Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) is trying something completely different to get its “don’t drink and drive” point across this holiday season. A humorous new campaign, developed by Revolve in Bedford, Nova Scotia, brings cars to life, portraying them as the automotive embodiment of their over-served drivers.

“The major insight came from the relationship that people have with their cars,” says John Smith, senior copywriter, Revolve. “For most people, their car is more important than transportation. It’s an extension of who they are. If this is true when they’re sober, it’s also true when they’ve been drinking. In
essence your car is going to behave exactly as you do.”

The effort employs animation to make real cars appear to have conversations, giving them human qualities that reflect the growing drunkenness of their drivers.

The campaign includes two TV ads, one targeted to men, the other to women, the latter featuring two lady cars on a driveway outside a house party. One vehicle clearly has her beer goggles on as she rambles on about how she thinks the dilapidated pickup truck across the street is a hunk. A yellow cab then drives by and drops the campaign slogan: “If you’ve had a few, your car has too.” Print, POS, OOH and online ads are also part of the media mix.

Credits:

advertiser: Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC); agency: Revolve; account director: Nelson Angel; account coordinator: Victoria DeWolfe; CD: Matthew Allen; copywriter: John Smith; ADs: Jeff Abracen, Eric Miller; prodco: Sparks; director: Paul Santana