Video – THINK!

Drink a Little. Risk a Lot.

In 2022, an estimated 1,920 people were killed or seriously injured in collisions where drink driving was a factor. Young men are over-represented in drink drive casualties, yet are less likely than the general population to say that drink driving is risky.

To tackle this, THINK! is launching a new winter campaign to highlight the consequences of even a few drinks before driving.

50% of young male drivers say they intend to be sensible but often get carried away when socialising, putting themselves at risk. We want to challenge young male drivers’ perceptions around personal limits, by raising awareness that even a little bit of alcohol can put you and your licence at risk.

The creative uses eye-catching illustrations and animations that show a driving licence disappearing into a pint of beer. Campaign assets highlight the impact licence loss can have on your freedom, social life, even your job, as well as the risk of injuring yourself or others – consequences that research shows resonate strongly with our audience. The campaign will run across Snapchat, Reddit, Facebook and Instagram, online video channels including YouTube and Twitch, billboards within 100 metres of pubs in England and Wales, and beermats and washroom posters in pubs and bars to influence risky behaviour in the moment.

A 30 second advert will run across Kiss, Capital, Radio X and TalkSPORT, podcasts and digital audio channels.

This winter, we are also joining forces with industry to launch THINK! 0%, a brand new, partner-led platform aiming to encourage drivers to always opt for 0% over an alcoholic drink if they’re getting behind the wheel.

Assets are available to download below and are free for organic use. For information on using the assets through paid media channels please contact dftpublicity@dft.gov.uk

Follow the campaign on X, Facebook and Instagram to discover more and share.

To download any of the videos below, select your chosen video, which will bring up the video player. Click on the ‘Vimeo’ logo in the bottom right of the video player and head to our Vimeo page, where you can download directly.

Mobiles 2022

Hands on the wheel? Hands off your phone.

THINK! has launched a new campaign to reduce handheld phone use amongst young drivers and coincide with a strengthening of the law around mobile phone use behind the wheel.

From 25 March 2022, it will be illegal to use a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel for virtually any use, including to take photos or videos, scroll through playlists or play games.

If you use a handheld phone behind the wheel, you can get a fine of up to £1,000, 6 points on your licence, and a driving ban.

The new campaign ‘Guardian Mates’ includes a series of short films and a radio ad which use the power of influence and respect between mates to help drivers tackle the temptation to pick up their phone. The campaign aims to get drivers to confront their behaviour by making mates present in the issue, unexpectedly appearing in the backseat of the car to intervene and stop them picking up the phone while driving.

These films will run across Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Pinterest, as well as online video and paid video on demand.

THINK! has a core audience of 17 to 24-year-old male drivers, who are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than male drivers aged 25 or over. However, this campaign also includes female drivers of the same age as research shows that both young male and female drivers have similar attitudes and behaviours towards mobile phone use. They also have less awareness of the law and penalties than older age groups.

The strengthening of the law applies to the use of handheld mobile phones. There is an exemption that allows contactless payments such as those at a drive-thru so long as the vehicle is stationary. A device can also be used handsfree while driving if secured in a cradle, allowing sat nav use. Drivers must however always take responsibility for their driving and can still be charged with an offence if the police find them not to be in proper control of their vehicle.

Follow @THINKgovuk on Twitter to discover and share more content from our campaign throughout March and April.

Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply. To download any of the videos below, select your chosen video, which will bring up the video player. Click on the ‘Vimeo’ logo in the bottom right of the video player and head to our Vimeo page, where you can download directly.

The THINK! team welcomes any support you can provide in sharing the message with your audiences. For further information, including suggested post copy, download our campaign toolkit from the ‘Get this’ section below.

Party Car

Young males aged 17-24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with car drivers aged 25 or over – and young male drivers are more likely to crash with passengers in the car.

Our Party Car campaign is aimed at tackling driving distractions among this high-risk group.

Launched on 30 January 2020, our latest campaign encourages passengers to ‘let a mate concentrate’.

We’ve created a suite of videos that will run across social media and online video, including Instagram stories, Snapchat and gaming apps. The films show how distracting certain behaviours – which may seem minor – can be to the driver.

To watch the videos, click on the icons below. To download any of the videos click on the on-screen ‘Vimeo’ logo and download directly from our Vimeo page. Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply.

Pint Block

Male drivers aged 17-24 are over-represented in drink drive related accidents. They’re also less likely than the wider population to perceive drink driving behaviour as risky or unacceptable.

Our ‘Pint Block’ films encourage young men to intervene to stop a mate drinking before they drive. The films show mates using inventive and surreal ways to step in, with the message that a mate doesn’t let a mate drink drive.

Running on social media and online video, the campaign is part of our ongoing Mates Matter strategy – which looks to reduce risky driving behaviour by getting young men to have each other’s backs and challenge perceptions about what it means to be a good driver.

To watch the videos, click on the icons below.

Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply.

The Road Whisperer

1 in 5 drivers crash in the first year after passing their test. Our research revealed that young drivers often feel vulnerable on the road. This can lead to them driving more defensively and taking unnecessary risks to over-compensate for their inexperience.

We know it takes real road experience to become a good driver. Launched 5 March 2019, our latest campaign encourages new drivers to ‘learn the ways of the road’ with the help of the Road Whisperer.

The mysterious Road Whisperer – think ‘The Dude’ from The Big Lebowski – will deliver tips and advice around some of the most nerve-wracking moments that new drivers face.

We’ve created a suite of tips that will run throughout March across cinema, video on demand and social media. The tips include driving on country roads, on motorways, at night, in light rain, on roundabouts, the importance of checking your tyres, and looking out for vulnerable road users.

Our launch materials are available below.

We’ll be making the remaining assets available throughout March. Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply.

Helpful hazards

Our Helpful hazards campaign provides tips and advice on driving safely on country roads.

The helpful hazards film takes common countryside sights (farm animals and agricultural equipment) and turns them into messengers, warning drivers of the potential hazards on country roads.

We partnered with LadBible to create engaging content for our target audience on social media.

THINK! put your phone away

On 1 March 2017, the penalties for using a handheld phone while driving increased. At the time of campaign launch, more than 26k drivers have been issued 6 points on their licence, and 500 new drivers have lost their licence.

THINK! campaign results show that whilst awareness of the penalty increase improved among adult drivers in England & Wales, and the perception of danger and unacceptability of using a phone while driving remained high, one in six still admitted to doing it.

This could be due to scepticism about getting caught (37% agree that the chance of getting caught is minimal) and individuals not worrying about the consequences of getting caught (48% worry about the impact of getting caught).

This campaign mark the one year anniversary of the penalty increase by highlighting to drivers that using your phone while driving has risk to life and risk to your licence.

The campaign included a re-run of the case study film ‘life without Zoë” to view this campaign material click here .

Cabbie night out

We teamed up with part-time relationship counsellor and Uber driver Dr. Ofore, and LADbible to create this film.

Mates matter

Our campaign is calling on friends to do what they do best – look out for each other.

We’re specifically calling for mates to intervene and stop their mates when they are tempted to drink driving.

Young men are heavily over-represented in drink drive related accidents. In 2016, 280 young men aged 16-24 were killed or seriously injured due to drink driving in Great Britain.

Pink Kittens

Our new road safety campaign has launched a new ad to drive home the amount of information that is missed by people when they’re looking at their phones.