Anti-Underage Drinking Campaign Walks the 'Long Road' from Words to Action

The new campaign for FAD (Help for Drug Addiction Foundation), a private non-profit Spanish institution whose Honorary President is Her Majesty Queen Letizia and has a fundamental mission to prevent the drug consumption and other risky behaviours of adolescents, appeals to individual and collective responsibility as the only way to deal with this problem. 

In other countries, everybody knows the popular saying: “it’s easier said than done.” In Spain, they have a similar saying: “del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho.” It emphasizes the fact that from words to action is a long road to walk. This long road is what the Spanish call “trecho.”

Saatchi & Saatchi Spain have created ‘EL TRECHO’. The route between saying and doing something, which we all know but until now nobody had decided to take, becomes the key to move from SAYING that no minor should drink alcohol to MAKING SURE no minor drinks alcohol.

Alcohol is the drug most consumed among adolescents and young people in Spain, and the one that causes the most personal, family, economic and social damage. In addition, there is a cultural problem of a society too permissive of the consumption and sale of alcohol to minors.

For this reason, the ‘EL TRECHO’ campaign invites and involves the whole society: parents, brothers, friends, shopkeepers, teachers, people who pass by the side of teenagers drinking, parents' associations, Latin singers, doctors, etc. and encourages us to reflect on the individual and collective responsibility that we all have about the serious problem of alcohol consumption in minors.

We can all do something to prevent alcohol consumption by minors, we just have to stop saying what we would do and start doing it. Because if we all DO something, we will get it for sure.

Following foundation’s messaging in recent years, the campaign faces this serious problem with a positive and inspiring tone.

‘EL TRECHO’ appeals to collective responsibility and gives large and small, but always achievable, examples of what each of us can do to prevent minors from drinking alcohol. It is not just about saying that something must be done, it is also about showing what things can be done. From not calling your dog “Whiskey” or “Rum” to making sure we understand that "but all of my friends drink" is not an excuse, it is a problem.

As a result, Saatchi & Saatchi have created a transmedia campaign that includes, in addition to five spots, a teaser, a video clip, radio spots, pieces for digital and four graphics for press and outdoor advertising. The presence in social networks will also be very important.

In addition, at the press conference on February 7th a call was made to join the manifesto "Civil Society About the Consumption of Alcohol in Minors", a statement prepared by the FAD and 40 more entities through the web.

The consumption of alcohol by minors is still a problematic behaviour that poses a risk to the health of the youngest. Especially when consumption is characterised by episodes of excessive intake.

In relation to this, and according to data from the Barometer 2017 prepared by the Queen Sofia Centre on Adolescence and Youth, getting drunk and losing control is a behaviour that affects 40% of young people between the ages of 15 and 29 despite the risks that it may entail.

Specifically in the group of minors (15 to 17 years) and although the sample is too small to be able to generalise, the percentage of respondents who say that getting drunk worth it is even two tenths higher (42%). This gives us an idea of ​​how this risky behaviour is integrated into young lifestyles in Spain.