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Anti-binge drinking campaign: Get serious
Sat, Feb 09, 2008 The Straits Times
I AM 19, an age at which hearing of my peers heading out to the clubs to party the night away is not uncommon. I am neither a frequent club-goer nor one who likes to indulge in heavy drinking when at a gathering with friends. But I know of people who do and acknowledge it is a problem that needs to be addressed. I applaud the organisers of 'Get your sexy back', the youth-for-youth anti-binge drinking campaign, for trying to spread the message and reach out more to young people. However, I feel that, although the message is crafted to try and fit into the lingo and pop culture youth are used to, the message lacks a tone of seriousness, which, ultimately, may be essential to instil it in the minds of these young people.

There may be a purposeful reason why the message of this campaign was crafted in this manner, for example to attract youth. Yet, we may not be able to change what most might typically feel about some of the messages in this campaign.

The name of the campaign sounds hip, but the campaign is essentially for a relatively stern cause: binge drinking, which can cause dire consequences such as brain damage. Perhaps the tone and manner should be a tad more solemn?

Most young people who keep up to date with the latest tunes will be reminded of the groovy beats of the hit song, and this may cause them to stray from taking the seriousness of being a binge drinker into account when they encounter the ad.

Instead of pondering the true consequences of how binge drinking can harm their bodies, they might go away humming the tune in their heads.

Perhaps, as in other campaigns like the anti-smoking one, 'shockvertising' can be employed to remind youth they are ruining their lives and bodies by binge drinking at such a young age.

The images of such a campaign may be embedded in their minds with a stronger impact - that binge drinking can be extremely detrimental to their health.

Magdalene Chua (Miss)