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In 1983, the public service advertisement (PSA) campaign against drunk driving was released. The commercial called “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” was aired to raise awareness about the deadly consequences of driving under the influence. The PSA includes the imagery of glasses filled with alcoholic drinks crashing against each other with the sound of a car accident in the background (Ad Council & U.S. Department of Transportation, 1983). The commercial was targeting young adults with the intent to address the possible negative outcome of allowing close people to drive after drinking. The NHTSA is using PSA to convey a relevant message of dangers from drunk driving by appealing to viewers’ feelings of guilt and responsibility by using narration, sound, and imagery.
The Ad Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) originated the PSA campaign against driving under the influence in 1983 (The ANA Educational Foundation, n.d.). Therefore, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” was the first product of these organizations’ partnerships. The NHTSA was established in 1968, with one of the main goals to promote safety on the road (Rabin, 2017). The need for the creation of this organization was due to the alarming number of fatalities during auto accidents was 5.5 deaths per hundred vehicle miles traveled (Rabin, 2017). Moreover, the percent of deaths based on the highest concentration of alcohol in drivers’ blood in 1982 was 50% (Rabin, 2017). Furthermore, experts estimated that every two Americans might be a part of alcohol-related driving accidents (The ANA Educational Foundation, n.d.). Therefore, the statistics suggest a lack of regulations and awareness about the consequences of drunk driving in the 1980s.
Drunk driving was addressed previously by the NHTSA as the ad was part of a more significant campaign. The Drunk Driving Prevention Campaign was aimed at raising awareness about the magnitude of the issues (The ANA Educational Foundation, n.d.). Besides drinking while very drunk, overall, about 50% of fatal car accidents were due to drivers under the influence of alcoholic substances (The ANA Educational Foundation, n.d.). Therefore, the plan “Drinking & Driving Can Kill A Friendship” was established to reach the target audience of young adults between the age of 16 and 24 (The ANA Educational Foundation, n.d.). The appeal to this audience is also understandable from the context of the ad, targeting people that are heavily influenced by their peers or in the context of ad friends. Moreover, this demographic is reported to cause 42% of all drunk driving deaths (The ANA Educational Foundation, n.d.). Overall, the ad was a part of a more significant awareness campaign; it also targeted teenagers and young adults.
Narration plays a vital role in this advertisement, as the text conveys the message alongside imagery and sound. The text begins with, “When friends don’t stop friends from drinking and driving…friends die from drinking and driving” (Ad Council & U.S. Department of Transportation, 1983). Moreover, the phrase “Friends die from drinking and driving” is repeated, and the final message of the advertisement states, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk” (Ad Council & U.S. Department of Transportation, 1983). The target audience is influenced by the text, as it appeals to pathos using vivid language. The advertisement repeats the phrase “friends die” multiple times to emphasize the fatal results of drunk driving. Moreover, the text targets the audience not directly, but by emphasizing the danger of driving under the influence poses to their loved ones. Therefore, the audience is feeling personally responsible for allowing dangerous behavior. Overall, the excellent use of narration supports the NHTSA’s campaign by appealing to the public’s feelings of guilt for letting their friends be in danger.
Furthermore, the use of sound plays an essential role in communicating the information of the PSA. Aside from the narrator’s voice, the advertisement’s main sound effect is the noise of a car crash when glasses full of alcohol hit one another (Ad Council & U.S. Department of Transportation, 1983). However, when one of the drinks stops striking the other glass, the sound change of an accident stops (Ad Council & U.S. Department of Transportation, 1983). The target audience hears the word “death” and the uncomfortable sound of the binding metal and shattered glass. Thus, the viewers are influenced by the background’s graphic sound effects, while all they see is broken glass and a spilled drink. This plays a crucial role in presenting the possibility of fatality while only consuming some alcohol with friends. Moreover, the sound appears more significant because the accident is not portrayed on a screen. Therefore, this enables the audience to imagine the accident happening with their loved ones. Thus, anonymity makes the advertisement more personal, as a lack of specific details on a screen enables the viewers to attach the possible fatalities to their own lives. Overall, the sound of a car accident is a useful tool of PSA produced by NHTSA because it appeals to the viewer’s feelings of obligation.
Lastly, the imagery of the PSA is conveying the message of the harmful result of drunk driving. In the advertisement, viewers can see two hands hitting together two glasses with various alcoholic substances in them (Ad Council & U.S. Department of Transportation, 1983). The advertisement shows that the possible fatality might occur while taking drinks that are considered less strong, such as beer or a glass of wine. Thus, the images help the audience to understand the dangers of driving after drinking different beverages. Moreover, the background of the scene is entirely white, making the viewer focus directly on the drinks. The targeted audience sees that typically a joyful activity of clinking a glass with friends is followed by a violate shattering of the aforementioned glass. The viewers are influenced by what they see, as going to a bar, and partying have positive connotations; however, the imagery presents the audience with the other side of the coin. All in all, the symbolism of broken glass and spilled drinks is essential in the advertisement by NHTSA. It promotes recognition of the drunk driving problem by appealing to the public’s feelings of responsibility.
To summarize, driving under the influence has been an essential topic in the United States since the 1980s. Since the nation was devastated by fatalities from drunk driving, the statistics were alarming. Therefore, the NHTSA collaborated with the Ad Council to develop an awareness campaign to improve the situation. The advertisement “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” was launched in 1983, which mainly targeted young adults. Since this group of individuals constituted a large percentage of drunk car accidents. Moreover, the PSA uses narration, sounds, and imageries, to appeal to the targeted audience’s emotions, including guilt and obligation, to protect their loved ones from dangerous situations. The narration reiterated the message of death for the audience to remember the main danger at the moment of drinking. The sound effect of a car crash makes the audience uncomfortable because they will be making connections between drinking and the sound of death. Lastly, the imagery reinforces the danger of alcohol consumption by graphically shattering the glass. From a modern perspective, the advertisement still looks impressive and convincing, because of the apparent appeal to pathos that is still influential to a contemporary audience.
References
Ad Council., U.S. Department of Transportation. (1983). Friends don’t let friends drive drunk [Advertisement]. YouTube. Web.
The ANA Educational Foundation. (n.d.). Drunk driving prevention (1983-present). Web.
Rabin, R. L., (2017). Pathways to auto safety: Assessing the role of the national highway traffic safety. Cambridge Univ. Press, pp. 297-321, Stanford Public Law Working Paper. Web.
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