As much as I creatively like the new anti alcohol ad by Wieden and Kennedy, it feels like it suffers from the same major flaw of all of these campaigns. It only speaks to one of the two audiences.
It tries to speak to kids and parents, but just ends up talking to the parents. Kids already know about the dangers of alcohol, maybe not in full detail but they know they might do silly things and end up having a crazy night; that's half the reason they do it.
All these anti-alcohol campaigns ever do is alarm the parents, which in some senses is worse because will just encourage the kids to rebel even more.
What really seems to be needed is something that make taking stupid drunken decisions seem a really uncool thing. This ad gets closer than most, but why not show old hideously unfashionable adults doing the same thing? Why not make kids think that being drunk and stupid is their parents idea of a damn good crusties night out?
Kids are kids. You can't say 'you musn't do that' and expect them not to be interested!
