Coca-Cola launches award-winning Designated Driver campaign
The campaign aims to reduce instances of drink-driving and promote safety during the Festive Season. The recent introduction of even more stringent drink-driving laws means that the campaign, which rewards designated drivers with free drinks from the Coca-Cola range, will be more popular than ever.
Consumers can choose from the extensive Coca-Cola portfolio including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Fanta Orange, Fanta Lemon, Fruice Juices and Cordials, Deep RiverRock Still and Sparkling and Appletiser.
Paula Colhoun, Marketing Manager, Licensed Trade, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland, commented, “Christmas is a time of celebrating with family and friends and through the Designated Driver programme Coca-Cola is offering consumers free soft drinks, juices and bottled water as a reward for making the responsible decision to be the Designated Driver during the Festive Season.”
The Designated Driver campaign is supported by An Garda Siochana, drinkaware.ie and the Road Safety Authority. It’s also backed by the LVA, VFI, RAI, IHF and INIA.
Fionnuala Sheehan, Chief Executive of drinkaware.ie, expressed her support for the initiative stating, “We would encourage people to try it out as an alternative way of getting home safely and also to download the Christmas Survival Guide from drinkaware.ie for more tips on enjoying the party season responsibly”.
Assistant Commissioner Gerard Phillips, Head of the Garda National Traffic Bureau, added, "We have supported this Designated Driver campaign since it started in 2004 and we believe it is an important initiative in helping to encourage all road-users to take responsibility and always put safety first. Our priority is keeping the roads as safe as possible and by designating a driver you are doing your bit to making sure everyone gets home safely on their night out. This will no doubt help prevent further deaths and serious injuries on our roads. We all wish to make 2012 another record low in terms of road fatalities but we all need to work together to make this happen."
The campaign website www.designateddriver.ie provides a full list of participating licensed outlets across Northern Ireland. The newly-updated website, also accessed via cokezone.ie allows Designated Drivers to download their free drinks vouchers before they visit the venues and even download an App to their mobile device allowing them to locate their nearest participating outlets.
The campaign was developed by Coca-Cola in 2004 and now also operates in Northern Ireland, where it’s supported by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Department of the Environment.
Coca-Cola HBC Ireland was awarded an All Ireland Marketing award in 2009 for Best Corporate Responsibility Campaign for the Designated Driver programme.
The Designated Driver may avail of free soft drinks from the Coca-Cola range over the course of the evening in participating licensed premises.
