Dive Brief:

• Smirnoff, a vodka label owned by Diageo, today (Nov. 21) launched a new holiday campaign to promote smart and safe drinking, according to a press release.
• “Drops of Advice” consists of six animated shorts by Igor Bastidas, an award-winning Venezuelan animator, which demonstrate safe drinking habits, such as avoiding top-ups, knowing when to stop and the importance of water breaks. Stills and prints from the animations will appear in Be Wildly Responsible pop-up bars around the world. The campaign was worked on by Confidant.
• Additionally, the effort will direct consumers to responsible-drinking website DrinkIQ. Smiroff’s latest effort is similar to those by Diageo last holiday season, and ties into the company’s priorities outlined in a 10-year social progress campaign. 

Dive Insight:

Timed to the holiday season, which typically sees an uptick in alcohol-induced injuries and incidents, Diageo-brand Smirnoff is looking to keep consumers safe. “Drops of Advice” features six visually-appealing animations with small tidbits of advice geared toward healthy drinking habits and include “When drinking, food is your friend,” Avoid top-ups,” “Dance freely, drink responsibly,” “Keep an eye on your friends,” “Stay hydrated” and “It’s okay to call it a night.”

Each piece of advice sees its own specially animated video clip that will be featured on both Diageo and Smirnoff’s social media pages starting this week, each meant to tie back to the brand’s “Be Wildly Responsible” throughline. “Drops of Advice” also sees similarities to Diageo’s “Know When to Stop” campaign from the 2021 holiday season, which featured custom art by Cari Vander Yacht.

Moderation has been a hot topic for brands this holiday season. For example, Allstate recently unveiled a line of mocktail recipes in order to promote safe driving. For Diageo, the responsible drinking efforts come as the brand ramps up its strategy under its “Society 2030: Spirit of Progress” 10-year plan, which encompasses a wide range of environmental and social initiatives like drinking safely. 

“We know the holidays are an important time for people to get together and enjoy the good times and we want to ensure we're encouraging people to do that in responsible ways while maintaining the fun, vibrant attitude we're famous for — encouraging our consumers to be wildly responsible,” said Stephanie Jacoby, global Smirnoff senior vice president in the press release.

Clarification: The campaign was conceptualized by Confidant.