Wunderman Thompson counters drinking excesses with casual patter
"Water drinkers flirt more flirtatiously", "Party and drink tea", "Juices! Juices! Abwehrkräfte" - these and other slogans are intended to encourage people to abstain from alcohol. Although alcohol consumption in Switzerland is declining overall, excessive drinking is on the rise. To counteract this development, the innovation platform Staatslabor and the Blue Cross are launching "Dry January" in German-speaking Switzerland - with the active involvement of the Wunderman Thompson agency.
Dry January" is a worldwide movement of millions of people to have a January without alcohol. The concept originated with the British non-profit organization Alcohol Change UK and is promoted in Switzerland by the Federal Office of Public Health, among others.
The challenge, he says, was to promote something that initially sounded like fun and indulgence. In the younger target group, educational speeches and raised forefingers rarely work, and drinking is usually more socially acceptable among friends and colleagues than not drinking.
That's why Wunderman Thompson decided to go down a path that didn't focus on the disadvantages of alcohol, but rather on the advantages of non-alcoholic beverages. The result was a colorful, light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek headline campaign that promotes all kinds of beverages - just not alcohol.
The slogans, written in the style of country wisdom, were adapted to all kinds of advertising media, so that even partners and sponsors such as the Alpamare adventure pool or the Rope Park Bern, for example, each received their own variants.
They also cooperated with influencers such as Gülsha Adilji, the dialect band Kunz, the rapper KT Gorique, Lisa Christ and the cooking blog Ana and Nina. All of them published sayings on their channels since January 1 to encourage their followers to join in themselves. The goal was and is to create a sense of community under the hashtag #DryJanuaryCH like the big role models Veganuary or Movember.
Those who would like to participate themselves and advertise for the good cause can find on Dryjanuary.ch Dozens of casual sayings to share on your own social media channels.
Responsible at Wunderman Thompson: Swen Morath (Chief Creative Officer); Benjamin Franken (Creative Director); Tobias Röben (Copy Writing); Saskia Kremser (Senior Strategist); Sara Runggaldier (Account Management). Responsible at state lab: Alenka Bonnard (Co-Managing Director and Co-Founder); Patrick Stadler (Project Management); Victor Kernen, Janine Eberle, Samira Keller, Maximilian Reiterer (Team); Christa Schlechten (Operations Lead). Responsible at Blue Cross Switzerland: Didier Rochat (Managing Director); Lukas Weber (Head of Communications and Fundraising); Katrin Andres (Project Management); Caroline Flück (Campaigner/Social Media).
