Advertising Association correlates THINK! campaign cuts with drink driving death spike
New figures from the Department of Transport which signal a 26 per cent rise in drink driving deaths in 2012, bucking a long-term downward trend, have been pinned on reduced funding for the highly successful THINK! campaign by the Advertising Association.
Government spending on road safety campaigns has fallen from £19m in 2008/09 to £4m in 2011/12, a cut of nearly 80 per cent.
Commenting on the statistics, Tim Lefroy, chief executive of the Advertising Association said: “Regrettably, this evidence points to tragic cause and effect. The THINK! campaign turned the tide on drink and drug driving in the UK, it was slashed in 2009 and we may now be seeing the consequences.
“THINK! is a case-study in effective behaviour change and reflects the UK’s global leadership in social marketing. These stats are a stark reminder to policy-makers that advertising can improve – and even save – lives, not just sales figures.”