Drinking Nightmare Campaign Effective: Research
According to new research, the Rudd Government’s campaign to reduce harm associated with binge drinking among young Australians has achieved strong awareness, as another burst of advertising will ensure the Don’t Turn a Night Out into a Nightmare campaign continues to remind people to drink responsibly over the holiday period.
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Previous Ministers29 December 2009
According to new research, the Rudd Government’s campaign to reduce harm associated with binge drinking among young Australians has achieved strong awareness, as another burst of advertising will ensure the Don’t Turn a Night Out into a Nightmare campaign continues to remind people to drink responsibly over the holiday period.
The campaign will continue to run prominently on television and in nightclubs over the holiday period as well as having a strong presence at this summer’s Big Day Out.
An independent evaluation of the Government’s advertising campaign involved interviews with 6,173 15-25 year-olds and 2,390 parents of 13-17 year olds which showed that it had strong awareness in the groups it had targeted: young people between the ages of 15 and 25 (85 per cent), and parents of 13 to 17-year-olds (80 per cent).
Some of the significant aspects found in the survey included:
- Around 40 per cent of young people who had never had an alcoholic drink thought the campaign had relevance to them. This increased to more than 60 per cent for those who had drunk or were drinking at high risk levels.
- At least three quarters of those interviewed agreed that the television commercials made them think about the negative things that can happen to them if they drank too much.
- About 30 per cent said they had reduced their drinking as a result of the advertisements.
Parents reported the campaign had prompted them to undertake protective strategies related to their children’s drinking. Of those interviewed, 83 per cent said they would be keeping an eye on their children and would ensure they knew who they were going out with and where they went. A similar number said they would set a good example by engaging in responsible drinking themselves.
The $20 million awareness campaign is just one element in the Government’s $53.5 million National Binge Drinking Strategy.
Binge drinking is a community wide problem that requires a community wide response. The
That’s why the Rudd Government has invested a further $14.4 million in community-level initiatives to confront binge drinking in partnership with sporting and community organisations, as well as $19.1 million to intervene earlier to assist young people and ensure that they assume personal responsibility.
There is no doubt that this campaign has had an impact, but there is much more to be done to change Australia’s drinking-to-get-drunk culture.
The full research report, completed by Ipsos Eureka, is available on the campaign website: www.drinkingnightmare.gov.au
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