Kirien Sangha

On a few job applications i've been asked: we have an issue with binge drinking in the UK, how would you combat this with advertising? 

You see, my thing is, you are never going to change something by telling someone how bad they are. Of course I admire all the wonderful adverts done to stop binge drinking and smoking but i think you need to show people the benefits of not getting wasted, rather then the consequences of it. This is what leads to change. I think. 

I’ve really toyed with ideas on how to do this. From having an iphone app that reads: Instead of drinking 2 glasses of wine tonight i............. and you fill in the blanks. This then links to a network and people share what they did and everyone feels better. But then i thought, this makes people sound like recovering alcoholics which is unlikely to impress. 

Then i thought of an App whereby throughout the night you have to repeat words back to the app and it then gives you a list of messages such as: easy tiger, think it’s time we hit the sack; you’re on the brink, one more drink and your over the edge; think your okay for another cheeky one. Then i realised this would be used for comedy rather than igniting change. I kept thinking and thinking...... 

Alas, Heineken brought into fruition what i was struggling to, but of course they did it so much better. Their advert, ‘til the break of down,’ shows their legendary character on a night out. Whilst everyone else is getting trashy he stays cool. Finally at the end of the night he is able to see the sunrise with an admirer. See here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHUpQZIylVc.

He’s shows exactly why it’s better to be classy and not trashy. Heineken went one stop further and to engage in conversation with their audience, they put sofas in four cities London, San Francisco, Ho Chi Minh City and Rio de Janeiro, in the best places to watch the sunrise. They invite you to photograph yourselves on the sofas watching the sunrise and then to upload it onto their facebook page. 

It’s pretty genius what they have done and they have approached it in a way that’s much better than the normal, point your finger and shout way we are used to.