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Jenson Button revs up support for Diageo’s anti-drink and drive campaign
Formula 1 stars Mika Häkkinen, Jenson Button, and Kevin Magnussen showed off their driving skills in Edinburgh yesterday to support Diageo’s Never Drink and Drive Christmas campaign.
Jenson Button, Mika Hakkinan and Kevin Magnusson team up for Johnnie Walker’s Never Drink and Drive campaign
The drivers drove competition winners and guests around the Scottish city centre in a Johnnie Walker branded Caparo T1 supercar and two McLaren MP4-6505 sports cars.
The stunt was to mark the change in Scottish legislation to reduce the acceptable blood alcohol limit from 80mg to 50mg per 100ml of blood.
Diageo’s new Never Drink and Drive campaign has now been launched in markets across the world, offering 250,000km of “safe rides home”.
In the UK Diageo has partnered with taxi company Uber to offer free journeys home in London, Manchester and Leeds. Users need to “join the pact” to never drink and drive to access a promotional code for use with Uber.
The group has also teamed up with the Department for Transport’s Think! Campaign to discourage drinking and driving this December through a series of outdoor media, Facebook and above the line advertising.
Andrew Cowan, Country Director, Diageo GB said: “During the festive season millions of Brits will celebrate with a drink, and we are committed to encouraging people to never drink and drive. We hope that everyone takes part in Join the Pact and makes that public commitment.”
Diageo aims to encourage five million people to sign up to the never drink and drive campaign over the next four years.
In a joint message issued from today’s event, Johnnie Walker global responsible drinking ambassador Mika Häkkinen, along with Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen, said: “We each know that driving a Formula 1 car is about staying in control, all of the time. Join the Pact is a commitment to staying in control and putting the safety of yourself, your passengers and other people ahead of everything else. It’s a choice that guarantees that everyone can enjoy their festivities and get home safely – we appeal to you to make that choice and Join the Pact to never drink and drive.”
The campaign follows calls in recent months to ban alcohol sponsorship from the Formula 1 motorsport, although Diageo claims it is working toward “driving positive change”.