303 MullenLowe Perth exposes dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant

14 January 2021

Creative Agency: 303Lowe (WA)

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The campaign’s media strategy is led by a state-wide TVC.

Alcohol. Think Again has launched a new public education campaign to inform the Western Australian community about the risk to babies from alcohol use during pregnancy.

The campaign's key message of "any amount a mother drinks, the baby drinks" challenges the inaccurate belief that a mother's placenta protects a developing baby from alcohol.

If a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, the blood alcohol level of the baby is similar to that of the mother, with research showing that even small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy can be harmful.

“The research we were given to work with was very powerful, and we channelled it as simply as we could," 303 MullenLowe executive creative director Richard Berney says.

"Any amount a mother drinks, the baby drinks is a striking fact and deserved a striking demonstration." 

Tahnee McCausland, senior project officer, Public Education and Health Promotion says: “While our recent research found most women believe alcohol should not be consumed during pregnancy, it also highlighted the need for continued education as 15% of WA women still reported drinking alcohol during their last pregnancy and one in three were unsure how much alcohol was okay to drink during pregnancy.”

The timing of the launch of the ‘One Drink’ campaign aligns with the National Health and Medical Research Council strengthening its advice relating to pregnancy in the Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol.

The Council now recommends that women who are pregnant and planning pregnancy should not drink alcohol.

Prenatal exposure to alcohol can damage the baby’s brain, resulting in severe and permanent physical, mental and behavioural disabilities, known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

There is concern that as many as 2% of all Australian babies may be born with some form of FASD.

The campaign’s media strategy is led by a state-wide TVC and supported by cinema, radio, out-of-home advertising, digital and social advertising and paid search.

Credits

Client:
Cancer Council Western Australia
Program Manager: Julia Stafford
Policy and Research Coordinator: Danica Keric

Mental Health Commission
Manager, Public Education and Health Promotion: Hannah Samsa
Senior Project Officer, Public Education and Health Promotion: Tahnee McCausland

Agency: 303 MullenLowe Perth:
Executive Creative Director: Richard Berney
Senior Writer: Steve Straw
Art Director: Steve Lorimer
Head of Planning: John Linton
Business Lead: Krista Song
Producer: Jonathan Julius

Production Company: Siamese
Director: Anthony Webb
Producer: Francesca Hope
Lead VFX: Andrew Buckley
DOP: Dave Le May

Sound: Cue Sound
Audio Engineer: Daniel Johnston

Photography: Luke Carter-Wilton

Media Agency: Initiative Perth
Investment Partnerships Manager: Lauren De Rozario
Investment Partnerships Executive: Christine Foster

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