Anti-drink-driving: "$73.000 BAR TAB" Ambient Advert by Ogilvy Brasil

Type of entry: Product & Service
Category: Charities, Public Health & Safety, Public Awareness Messages
Advertiser: BAR AURORA/BOTECO FERRAZ
Product/Service: BAR CHAIN
Agency: OGILVY BRASIL São Paulo, BRAZIL
Vice President Executive Creative Director: Anselmo Ramos (Ogilvy Brasil)
Creative Director: Rubens Filho (Ogilvy Brasil)
Head Of Art: Denis Kakazu (Ogilvy Brasil)
Art Director: Bruno Ribeiro (Ogilvy Brasil)
Copywriter: Megan Farquhar (Ogilvy Brasil)
Producer: Cecilia Taioli (Ogilvy Brasil)
Producer: Mauricio Granado (Ogilvy Brasil)
Account Supervisor: Camila Porto (Ogilvy Brasil)
Account Supervisor: Samia Paz (Ogilvy Brasil)
Describe the brief from the client:
The objective of this promotion was to raise awareness, to make people think about drunk driving, and to draw attention to the Bar Aurora and Botec Ferraz chain of bars.
Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation:
The concept of this promotion was to add the real costs of drunk driving to people’s bar tabs as a way of impacting them right before they decided whether to drive drunk or not. To implement this, we went into the computer systems at the bars and added line items like “Amputation” “Wheelchair” and “Physical Therapy.” When people asked for their tabs at the end of the night, they were in for a shock. At first they were upset, but when they got the message, they were so touched that many people asked to keep their bar tabs.
Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results:
People asked to take the bar tabs with them to show their friends. Then the message took off. In just one month, it became a Trending Topic on Twitter, gained 200,000 views on YouTube and was mentioned in hundreds of blogs. The case video was discussed so extensively that it became one of YouTube’s most discussed videos in both Brazil and Spain. With 503,000 mentions on Google, Bar Aurora and Boteco Ferraz received tons of attention. As for talking to drunk drivers, on the nights of this action there was an 80% increase in consumers hailing cabs from these locations.
Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service:
The strength of this idea lies in the nature of the customers. The customer’s of Bar Aurora and Boteco Ferraz are not likely to read much of anything during their visit to the bars. That is, until they receive their bills. It is human nature to check where the money is going and connecting the expenses of their night out to the real costs of drinking and driving proved very impactful. This execution is especially important to the brand, as it is the main piece of communication between the brand and the client.