Drunk Drivers Are 'Losers'

Bold commercials call drunk driving ugly and uncool

By MATT BARTOSIK

Updated 2:07 PM CST, Wed, Dec 31, 2008

Print Email Share TWITTER FACEBOOK

Getty Images

Tonight's the night.

If you've been exposed to any media in Illinois, you've likely run into the state's new hard-hitting ad campaign about the consequences of drinking and driving. The serious message promoted on TV, radio, and online is a stark contrast to the usual uplifting, cheerful sentiments of the holiday season. And with good reason.

The Illinois Department of Traffic Safety wants to be sure that the campaign grabs people's attention. The new TV commercials feature the word "loser" seared onto people's bodies. Promo creators Lou Beres & Associates/Chicago hope drivers remember the unsightly images this holiday season.

"This campaign needed to cut through the clutter with an extremely memorable reminder that getting a DUI is ugly, uncool, and, most of all, has severely permanent effects," Chief Creative Officer Andy Madorsky said in a press release. "We want the word 'loser' to be synonymous with DUI. We know that strong enforcement is a great deterrent to this problem, and we are attaching an idea designed to make people notice and think twice."

Driving Drunk to Become Very Expensive in New Year

WATCH

Driving Drunk to Become Very Expensive in New Year

As of midnight January 1, Illinois enacts a new, stricter DUI law. All first-time DUI offenders who wish to continue driving must get a monitoring-device driving permit and install a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device in their vehicle. The device requires a breath test in order to start the vehicle and also at periodic intervals during the trip.

"This law uses technology to target DUI offenders in an effort to make our roads safer, while posing no inconvenience to the vast majority of Illinoisans who are safe and responsible drivers. Most importantly, this law will save lives," said Secretary of State Jesse white, reports My Web Times.

Examples of the ad campaign can be found at http://www.louberes.com/work_idot.html