The Health Promotion Agency for alcohol and pregnancy and FCB have released a campaign called ‘Don’t know? Don’t drink’ produced by Flying Fish, highlighting the fact that there is no known safe amount and no known safe time to drink alcohol during pregnancy.
The campaign features a 30-second video which focuses on the moment a woman has to decide whether or not to drink, even though she suspects she could be pregnant.
In the TVC the young woman is hanging out with her friends and then leaves to go and get a drink before being confronted by her own reflection in a window as she reaches for some liquor.
Her reflection acts as a rather critical guardian angel, urging her not to drink, even if she’s not certain that she’s pregnant, saying “Seriously what if it hurts the baby?”
The campaign is targeted towards young women aged 18 to 30 years who drink at moderate to risky levels, the Health Promotion Agency’s website says.
The campaign will primarily be seen in targeted online environments and in bar settings, the website says.
A spokesperson for the agency says drinking is an important public and personal health issue in New Zealand. “We have a strong drinking culture, young women have high rates of drinking and hazardous drinking, and we have a high rate of unplanned pregnancies – two out of five pregnancies in New Zealand are unplanned. This increases the risk of women drinking alcohol, potentially to harmful levels, when they are pregnant but do not yet know it – and irreversible harm being done to a developing foetus.”
The spokesperson says many young women will be aware that heavy drinking can cause damage to an unborn baby, however other will be completely unaware of this risk. “Drinking through pregnancy hurts babies, the goal of this campaign is to stop women drinking if they think there is a chance they could be pregnant.”
Research on the agency’s website says drinking alcohol during pregnancy can result in miscarriage, still birth and a baby being born with a range of lifelong effects. “In the child, alcohol exposure in pregnancy can result in premature birth, brain damage, birth defects, growth restriction, developmental delay and cognitive, social emotional and behavioural deficits.”
The research says foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is estimated to effect between 600 and 3000 New Zealand babies are born every year.
Credit list:
Health Promotion Agency for Alcohol and Pregnancy
Regional Executive Creative Director: James Mok
Executive Creative Director: Regan Grafton
Senior Creative Writer: Matt Williams
Senior Creative Art Director: Freddie Coltart
Creative Services Director Jenni Doubleday
Head of Craft: Nick Smith
Photographer: Mike Braid
Planner: Carl Sarney
Head of Content: Producer: Pip Mayne
Group Account Director Jane Wardlaw
Account Director: Chanelle McDonald
Media Manager: Roxane Vosper
Media Planner / Buyer: Dan Roberts
Digital Media Manager: Lucy Sorensen
Digital Campaign Manager: Kate Kennedy
Client: HEALTH PROMOTION AGENCY
Senior Account Lead: Kathy Compton
Production
Production Company: Flying Fish
Production Company Director: Paolo Rotondo
Production Company Executive Producer: James Moore
Production Company Producer: Sam Attenborough
Director of Photography: Simon Raby
Post Production
Offline editor: Ken Sparks | Mandy
Post Production: Mandy
Sound
Sound Studio: Franklin Road
Sound Engineer: Shane Taupiri
Music: Library