Are you an underdrinker?
That’s the tongue-in-cheek question the TBDHU asked young adults in fall 2015 through a campaign to prevent binge drinking.
Elevated levels of drinking in Northwestern Ontario means that people in our district are at a greater risk of negative consequences. One in 5 adults aged 19+ in the Thunder Bay District report binge drinking at least once a month in the past year. To raise awareness about binge drinking among young adults aged 25-34, the Underdrinker campaign was designed to counterpoint the messages in popular culture – such as heavy drinking in movies, TV and images of partying in music videos – which normalize heavy drinking.
“We know that this audience isn’t really receptive to a message saying, ‘Don’t drink more than X-number of drinks’,” says Sheena Albanese, a Health Promotion Planner at the TBDHU. “So we needed to come up with a new, attention-getting idea that resonated with the audience. By meeting with people in the target audience to develop the campaign, we refined the campaign message and approach.”
The Underdrinker campaign included a website, promotional materials and a video. The video, a stylized, animated production that gives a wink-and- a-nod to pirate-life airs, shows the downside of overdrinking and the upside of staying in control. It was viewed on YouTube over 5,000 times during September and October. It also ran as a public service announcement in Silver City theatres during the busy December season.
The Underdrinker campaign is part of a multi-component approach to reducing binge drinking and the associated health risks including injury and drunk driving in Thunder Bay and District.