Binge Drinking Awareness Ad

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Advisory Council, Binge Drinking is defined as drinking four drinks during two hours for females, and five drinks in two hours for males. Binge drinking results in a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher and is one of the most serious problems on college campuses, with 48 percent of college students admitting that they “drink to get drunk”(http://www.cspinet.org).

While many college students think that binge drinking is a fun way to blow off steam, few realize all of the negative consequences they could face. Students who binge drink are 21 times more likely than nondrinkers to miss class, engage in unplanned sexual activity, and get in trouble with the police. Binge drinking not only affects the individual who is participating in the drinking; it can affect those around them by disrupting their sleep and sometimes even damaging their property.

The Center for Disease Control has done numerous studies to find out who binge drinks and how they are affected. Their studies found that 75 percent of the alcohol consumed in the United States is in the form of binge drinking and that binge drinking is highest in the 18-to-20 year old group. Underage drinkers are extremely likely to binge drink, which was made evident in a recent national survey that found that 90 percent of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the U.S. is in the form of binge drinks (http://www.cdc.gov/alchohol). This survey also found that men are two times more likely to binge drink than females.

After researching the topic of binge drinking I began to toss around ideas of how I could create an ad discouraging college students from binge drinking. First, I went for the statistics. I chose a male model since men are twice as likely to participate in binge drinking, and I chose a college age person since binge drinking is most common in the late teens and early twenties. At first, I was thinking of including some shocking statistics or trying to scare people away from drinking, but then I realized that just trying to scare people may not do the trick since most college students are going to drink no matter how many facts and figures you throw at them. I decided to take a different approach and just be real with the target audience. My ad says “It’s easy to make fun of the guy passed out in his own puke. But what if that guy was YOU?”

I acknowledged the fact that people at parties always laugh at drunken people, but at the bottom of my ad I also said “When they show you the pictures the next day, don’t misinterpret. They’re laughing at you, not with you.” Basically, I want to let people know that one or two drinks are fine, but no one wants to be the guy passed out at 8 p.m. before his friends even go out to the bars.

Also, I decided to cover my model’s face with a circle that says “YOUR face here” because I want people to look at it and think: this could be anyone, even me. Another way I got this point across was to highlight the word “YOU” in red each time it was used and make it slightly bigger. I like the way the red contrasts with the mostly black and white toned ad, and also I think the font is very appropriate and appealing for a college age person. Overall, I wanted to keep it simple and get my point across, and I believe this ad does just that.