10 Dec 2009
By Paul Mitchell
Elephants are a dominant animal when it comes to beer. Carlsberg has their elephant beer and Tusker has an elephant on their label. Beside references to pink elephants and inferences of excess that extend to a Belgian beer brand (see the additional note for more on the beer), the "elephant in the room" has become more than just a figure-of-speech for the unmentioned. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has just released a holiday campaign to encourage responsible drinking that uses inflatable elephants as their central concept. "Deflate the Elephant" hopes to curb drinking-and-driving while educating the public on how to be a good host.
"Deflate the Elephant" (visit www.deflatetheelephant.com) is an integrated campaign utilizing print ads, television spots, and an interactive website beginning December, just in time for holiday celebrations. The key messages are that there are options to drinking-and-driving, and it is up to the host to be responsible and informed. Instead of the typical "doom and gloom" approach that MADD typically uses, the LCBO has tried to employ a more witty method for an older, sophisticated demographic. The campaign may be more subtle and intelligent that one would expect but it does have an effective style that will attract attention. If it resounds in the minds of people during the festive season is another question.
The print ads show people in social situations enjoying drinks, with an omni-present grey inflatable elephant that represents the unspoken danger of drinking-and-driving. Along with the website, a variety of different scenarios are employed in the print and television ads: guys watching the big game, the dinner party, the holiday party. The focus is always specifically on hosting friends at family at home. By presenting identifiable example in ads and a role-playing method on the site, viewers are hopefully educated about the different options to drinking-and-driving.
The concept makes a lot of sense and the information at the site is very comprehensive. A few minutes of clicking on buttons and playing with the site was interesting but it became repetitive and tiresome pretty quickly. Much like the effect portable personal breathalyzers had on binge-drinking, the site quickly became a counter-productive game where it is more interesting to find the wrong answer and discover the consequences. Not that we are condoning drinkng and driving nor over-consumption, but sometimes the intended message gets lost in the function. This is definitely the case with the "Deflate the Elephant" website, however, the ads are a lot more interesting. Not funny or incredibly creative and memorable, but interesting.
Marketing Magazine's website has a comprehensive report on the creative team that designed and built the campaign. Learn more by visiting their site: http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/marketer/article.jsp?content=20091208_155702_9812
Additional notes:
Delirium Tremens is a brand of Belgian strong pale ale produced by Huyghe Brewery in Melle. that was launched in 1989. The beer uses three different yeasts and is packaged with a label that exemplifies different phases of the production of "Delirium Tremens" and that the "Pink Elephant" was ready to conquer the world. The ongoing controversy of the beer stems from the usage of pink elephant imagery (synonymous with alcoholism) and their name which connotes the shakes people get when they go through detox and withdrawl. Visit their website at http://www.delirium.be.
Elephants are a dominant animal when it comes to beer. Carlsberg has their elephant beer and Tusker has an elephant on their label. Beside references to pink elephants and inferences of excess that extend to a Belgian beer brand (see the additional note for more on the beer), the "elephant in the room" has become more than just a figure-of-speech for the unmentioned. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has just released a holiday campaign to encourage responsible drinking that uses inflatable elephants as their central concept. "Deflate the Elephant" hopes to curb drinking-and-driving while educating the public on how to be a good host.
"Deflate the Elephant" (visit www.deflatetheelephant.com) is an integrated campaign utilizing print ads, television spots, and an interactive website beginning December, just in time for holiday celebrations. The key messages are that there are options to drinking-and-driving, and it is up to the host to be responsible and informed. Instead of the typical "doom and gloom" approach that MADD typically uses, the LCBO has tried to employ a more witty method for an older, sophisticated demographic. The campaign may be more subtle and intelligent that one would expect but it does have an effective style that will attract attention. If it resounds in the minds of people during the festive season is another question.
The print ads show people in social situations enjoying drinks, with an omni-present grey inflatable elephant that represents the unspoken danger of drinking-and-driving. Along with the website, a variety of different scenarios are employed in the print and television ads: guys watching the big game, the dinner party, the holiday party. The focus is always specifically on hosting friends at family at home. By presenting identifiable example in ads and a role-playing method on the site, viewers are hopefully educated about the different options to drinking-and-driving.
The concept makes a lot of sense and the information at the site is very comprehensive. A few minutes of clicking on buttons and playing with the site was interesting but it became repetitive and tiresome pretty quickly. Much like the effect portable personal breathalyzers had on binge-drinking, the site quickly became a counter-productive game where it is more interesting to find the wrong answer and discover the consequences. Not that we are condoning drinkng and driving nor over-consumption, but sometimes the intended message gets lost in the function. This is definitely the case with the "Deflate the Elephant" website, however, the ads are a lot more interesting. Not funny or incredibly creative and memorable, but interesting.
Marketing Magazine's website has a comprehensive report on the creative team that designed and built the campaign. Learn more by visiting their site: http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/marketer/article.jsp?content=20091208_155702_9812
Additional notes:
Delirium Tremens is a brand of Belgian strong pale ale produced by Huyghe Brewery in Melle. that was launched in 1989. The beer uses three different yeasts and is packaged with a label that exemplifies different phases of the production of "Delirium Tremens" and that the "Pink Elephant" was ready to conquer the world. The ongoing controversy of the beer stems from the usage of pink elephant imagery (synonymous with alcoholism) and their name which connotes the shakes people get when they go through detox and withdrawl. Visit their website at http://www.delirium.be.
