"A clever design that ends up surprising viewers with a serious message." —juror Bart Marable

"The unexpected intersection of typography and slot machines is oddly compelling. And the repeated use of powerful nomenclature with simple interactions makes the message stunningly clear." —juror Liz Danzico

Overview: One of every nine traffic fatalities in Germany is due to drunk driving. Most of these avoidable accidents involve teenage drivers under the influence of alcohol. In response to this statistic, the Malteser Ambulance Service Frankfurt commissioned an ad campaign to direct young drivers to a discussion on malteser.de. This banner ad is an urgent, interactive appeal to young drivers to not drink and drive. The typographic collage of labels of well-known liquor brands spells-out, in no uncertain terms, the injuries that result when alcohol and driving are mixed.

• The banners ran on platforms promoting nightlife, public parties and music events.
• Click rates on www.malteser.de during the promotion were sixteen percent higher than in the previous months.

Comments by Christian Mommertz and Stephan Vogel:
Is the audience you were targeting a particularly difficult one to reach? "Yes. Teenagers are increasingly difficult to target through traditional media channels such as press, radio or TV. So, there was indeed a need to come up with a new and contemporary campaign on drinking and driving, particularly with regard to young drivers.

"It was our intention to communicate with the target audience in an environment with a close link to the issue itself. By creating an interactive banner to run on Web pages covering nightlife, parties and music events we hoped to create awareness and preventative behavior with young people before they went out for the evening.

"The banner was part of an integrated campaign that went beyond traditional ads in newspapers and entertainment guides. A regional film commercial was screened on video portals and distributed virally, give-away postcards were dispensed in cafes and bars, urinal posters in bars and discos featured images from the ad, as did billboards in parking lots close to popular nightspots.

"When we look at other international campaigns against drunk driving, our campaign really stands out. And the success of it confirms that not all 'Don't Drink and Drive' warnings need to show gruesome images, crash scenes and casualties to create awareness. Instead, a surprisingly creative and striking format can have the same effect in a way that's more in-tune with the zeitgeist of young people today."