Are people out of control when it comes to drinking?
The world's leading premium drinks business Diageo has launched an online campaign called Think How You Drink. They started the campaign to show that drinkers are not just suffering the physical effects of a hangover but in today’s society there are now digital repercussions too.
The aim of the campaign is to reach out to one million young people across Europe to help them with their drinking habits. There is a specific concern with young people who are drinking to the excess. To support the campaign Diageo developed a funny video featuring drunken walks that you would expect to see on a night out.
40% of women are embarrassed over drunken photos and videos taken on a night out and 40% of 18-24 year olds admit to asking friends to remove shameful photos and videos from social media sites. 65% of this age group admitting to judging friends or colleagues based on photographs and movies that show them on a drunken night out.
Also, more than a third of respondents stating that images of celebrities appearing drunk in media sets a bad example for young people. The most concerned about this negative message are of 55+ year olds with 42%, closely followed by 18-24yr olds with 38%.
The campaign encourages young adults to consider their alcohol intake by warning them how ridiculous they can look on a drunken night out and how their antics can have far wider consequences than just the short term embarrassment.
Thanks to the explosion of social media and an eagerness to share images and video to document a night out, young drinkers are suffering from a digital hangover.
Key findings from the Diageo research looking into attitudes towards drinking and the social repercussions include:
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- Forgotten Journeys: Over half of all males surveyed and 31% of women have been so drunk that they haven’t remembered their walk home. Drinkers aged 25-34 year olds are most likely to do this with 58% admitting memory loss.The least likely group is 55+ but still as many as 30% have had no memories of drunken journeys back. Alarmingly, 1 in 10 people questioned will forget between 4-5 walks home each year and 18-24 year olds will forget 6-9 walks due to alcohol.
- Drunken Embarrassment: 40% of women admit to being embarrassed by drunken pictures/videos of themselves whereas 30% of men were unconcerned. The most embarrassed age-group is 18-24 year olds with 47% - only 21%. People over the age of 55 admitted to being embarrassed.
- Requests to Remove: 16% of all respondents have asked people to remove embarrassing material of them drunk. People from East Anglia are most likely to ask friend to remove them with 21%. By far the highest age group asking for content to be removed is 18-24yr olds with 40%.
- Sorry State: Men are the most apologetic for their drunken behaviour, with 36% having to say sorry. Although 50% of women are embarrassed by their behaviour only 28% will apologise for it.
- The Big Night with Friends: By far the most common reason for embarrassing drunk behaviour is a big night out with friends with 30%. Although festival season is in full-swing, less than 1% cited a music festival as an event where they were embarrassed by their drunken behaviour.
- Social Judges: Women are most likely to judge people based on pictures or video of them drunk on social media with 47%, compared to 38% of men. Northern Ireland is the most judgemental area with 57% and 18-24 year old drinkers are the most judgemental age group with 65%.
- Celebrity Role Models: More than a third of respondents stating that images of them appearing drunk in media sets a bad example. The most concerned about this negative message are of 55+ year olds with 42%.
Marketing Innovation Director Malcolm D’Sa said ‘Today’s drinkers don’t just have to worry about what happens on a night out; they have to deal with the digital fallout. Videos and images on social media are causing more than just a headache and nausea; it’s causing a ‘digital hangover’ involving shame and embarrassment that last longer.
There’s that horrifying moment when an embarrassing or ‘career limiting’ picture or video is posted online and causes a flurry of comments and, increasingly, judgements. With hundreds of friends, family and even work colleagues on social networks, your drunken behaviour and subsequent shame could spread and be immortalised on social media.’
‘We know that drinking to excess is still a serious issue for a minority of people and with this video we are deliberately using humour to catch young adults’ attention and deliver a serious message at the end.The people we are trying to reach are online and on social media and we know that humour is a more effective way of delivering a message across those channels.’
The ‘Think How You Drink’ campaign will also feature as part of Diageo’s other responsible drinking initiatives over the next 18 months, including during Fresher’s Week and via the ‘Ask Dave’ alcohol calculator that helps users keep a track of their drinking.