Pernod Ricard turned to FLY to build a multichannel campaign that answered the question of why so much responsibility messaging falls on deaf ears. FLY’s research quickly discovered that images of mangled cars and bodies had little impact on those who were highest at risk for DUI. While no one is “for” drunk driving, people get behind the wheel because of a powerful psychological phenomenon commonly known as denial. They justify their behavior with an excuse. And since the only way to attack denial is to “out” the excuses, that’s just what we did.
Results
The Accept Responsibility campaign, and the accompanying FLY-built website, did indeed become industry best of breed. The novel approach of bringing denial and its accompanying excuses to light was hailed by experts, and both schools and psychologists partnered with Pernod Ricard in using FLY’s website content to teach responsibility. Pernod Ricard enjoyed continued PR benefit, and the campaign was translated and expanded throughout North America, Europe, and Australia.