New Ad Council, NHTSA PSAs Illustrate Cost of Buzzed Driving

NEW YORK – TVB and the Ad Council, with support of National Highway Traffic Safety Association, are partnering to combat drunk driving for the ninth consecutive year through a national public service advertising initiative: “Project Roadblock: Local TV Puts the Brakes on Drunk Driving.”

The PSAs highlight the increase in drunk driving-related fatalities during the holiday season, as well as the financial consequences of buzzed driving. The initiative utilizes the resources of local TV broadcasters nationwide from Dec. 26-31, 2012.

The ‘Roadblock’ – a TV industry term referring to multiple stations in a market airing the same ads in the same timeframe – consists of multimedia PSAs designed to inform viewers about the dangers and financial consequences, of buzzed driving. Participation levels for the 2012 campaign are up, with over 900 broadcast TV stations and digital sub channels having donated on-air, online and mobile time and space.

“Local television broadcasters have donated countless hours of media to our Buzzed Driving Prevention campaign. Their generosity for Project Roadblock 2012 will further extend our critical ‘buzzed driving is drunk driving’ message into homes nationwide during this holiday season,” said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council.

The new PSAs were created pro bono by advertising agency Merkley + Partners, and the new spots, “Solitary Confinement” and “Bad Daters,” as well as a Spanish translation of “Bar Math,” continue to illustrate the financial consequences which can cost around $10,000 in fines, legal fees and increased insurance rates.

All of the PSAs will direct viewers to http://buzzeddriving.adcouncil.org, and participating stations will also utilize social networking tools to reinforce the messages.

��In 2011, Project Roadblock reached 99.8 percent of US television households with stations in 205 markets contributing an estimated $4.2 million dollars of air time over the six day period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, and we anticipate even greater reach and results in 2012,” said Steve Lanzano, president and CEO, TVB. “There is no more powerful medium to reach individuals and make them aware of issues of urgency than local broadcast television, and the TVB is enormously proud of the growing number of local TV broadcasters who are donating air time, online and mobile visibility and inventory for the 2012 ‘Project Roadblock’ campaign.”