Experiential campaign tackles binge drinking

TRO has created an alcohol awareness campaign for the Home Office at the 2008 Clothes Show Live exhibition on 5-10 December.

The 'Know Your Limits' campaign was one of the exhibition's sponsors, having identified the show as a prime environment in which to get across key messages highlighting the risk of excessive drinking.

In addition to designing and building the exhibition stand environment, TRO branded three changing rooms and produced a range of message-bearing give-aways.

The Home Office stressed that the campaign is not about stopping people from enjoying a drink, but about promoting sensible drinking behaviour.

The message being conveyed at the show was about taking personal responsibility for drinking behaviour and knowing when to stop.

Visitors to the stand were challenged to perform a series of tasks that they would carry out on a typical night out - only this time hampered by wearing a set of 'KYL goggles'.

These are glasses incorporating a special technology that gives the wearer the impression of being drunk.

When trying to apply cosmetics to a face superimposed on a mirror while wearing the glasses, girls discovered just how disorientated they were by the simulated effect of alcohol.

Another stand feature was a clothes rail displaying a selection of favourite clothes, which, on closer inspection turned out to be damaged, with torn sleeves, stains on a silk dress and a pair of shoes from which the heel had been snapped off.

What initially looked like a full-length mirror was actually a lenticular picture showing contrasting images of the same person visible from different angles.

From one side visitors saw an attractive Brad Pitt lookalike at the start of the night, while from the other the view was a worse-for-wear version.

The Home Office will be evaluating the success of the experiential medium.

On leaving the stand, visitors were asked to fill out a short questionnaire aimed at discovering whether their experience on the stand had made them feel more negative about binge drinking.

In exchange for the completed form, they received a small branded gift carrying a reminder message.

Stand staff also logged the number of people taking part in the activities.

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