Bob ("It's Party Time When Bob Drives")
Belgian Road Safety Institute (BIVV-IBSR, now Vias institute)1995
Bob ("It's Party Time When Bob Drives") is a 1995 poster and billboard campaign (with television, radio and cinema spots) for Belgian Road Safety Institute.
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The line
C'est la fête quand Bob conduit sans alcool.
Why it works
Instead of frightening drivers, Belgium gave the sober driver a name. In December 1995 the Belgian Road Safety Institute and the brewers' responsible-drinking group Arnoldus introduced Bob: the friend, male or female, who stays off alcohol and drives everyone home, cast as the hero of the evening rather than the killjoy. The positive message ran on television, radio, cinema and roadside billboards alongside stepped-up police checks over the festive season, and drivers who blew a clean breath test were handed a Bob key ring. It is studied as the first campaign to personify the designated driver, turning a safety rule into a social role people could volunteer for. Within a year nine in ten Belgians had heard of Bob; by 2002, 30% said they had been Bob, up from 20% in 1996. The idea spread to the Netherlands and, with European Commission funding, across Europe as a model of good practice. The institute itself stresses that fewer police checks make the campaign less successful.
Techniques
- Mascots and characters Bob gives the designated driver a name and a face, a recurring character cast as the hero of the evening rather than the killjoy.
- Participation Anyone can volunteer to be Bob, and drivers who pass a breath test receive a Bob key ring, turning the message into a role people take on.
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