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PRESS RELEASE: 05.09.2007

Over 200,000 visitors to the ‘Drunk, you’re a fool’ campaign website

The ‘Drunk, you’re a fool’ campaign, which was launched last week in Finland, has attracted considerable attention and sparked off plenty of discussion in a variety of forums. The number of website visitors broke the 200,000 mark within the campaign’s first week. There has also been interest elsewhere in Europe. For example, Spanish newspaper El Mundo and Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter all ran articles on the campaign last week.

“This level of interest is exceptional in the history of Finnish alcohol and drug awareness campaigns. Going by the number of website visitors, the campaign has aroused the hoped for amount of attention and discussion required to further alcohol education. If we’re to change Finland’s alcohol culture and drinking behaviour, we need a continuous flow of lively and varied social discussion on the topic,” says researcher Mikko Salasuo from the Finnish Youth Research Network.

“We’re delighted that the campaign has aroused so much interest. Our aim was to kick start discussion on what kind of alcohol use we Finns find acceptable. The number of visitors to the campaign website, as well as the lively debates in Internet and other discussion forums, indicate that there is indeed room for both a new style of alcohol education and a new alcohol culture,” says Timo Jaatinen, Managing Director of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry.

During its second week, the campaign will expand from outdoor advertising into bars, pubs and restaurants. SK Restaurants has already passed on the campaign message to its loyal customers, and will now be making it visible in its own establishments throughout Finland. Staff badges will remind customers that foolish drunkenness ruins both their own and others’ enjoyment of an evening out.

“We’re participating in this campaign because it’s our duty to ensure that our customers spend a safe and enjoyable evening in our bars. Everyone knows that when you have another drink, you want to keep having fun. However, we must remember that King Alcohol makes a good servant but a bad master,” says SK Restaurants’ CEO Seppo Koskinen.

Additional information:

Timo Jaatinen, Managing Director, Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry

Tel. +358 9 148 871 and +358 40 837 6794, timo.jaatinen@panimoliitto.fi