Diageo uses VR to combat drink driving

Diageo has unveiled a “first-of-its-kind” virtual reality experience in North America to tackle drink driving, featuring its Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker.

Diageo has upped its efforts to combat drunk driving with a new virtual reality experience

Spearheaded by Diageo’s Digital and Culture & Partnerships teams, ‘Decisions’ represents the company’s latest approach to educate and “meaningfully” impact consumers about the importance of responsible decision-making when drinking.

Through the use of virtual reality technology, Diageo highlights the negative impact that one bad decision can have on multiple lives.

With the purpose of showing the repercussions of getting behind the wheel after a night of excessive drinking, ‘Decisions’ follows the journeys of three different vehicles and their passengers.

The stories of each individual group unfold as the viewer discovers the different motivations that led to each group’s night out with each story ultimately ending in a tragedy.

Diageo has brought Johnnie Walker to the forefront of the initiative, following the success of the brand’s ‘Join the Pact’ campaign, which urged consumers to stop drink driving by having them take a pledge to never get behind the wheel while intoxicated.

“With Thanksgiving and the holiday season right around the corner, the dangers of drunk driving should be on all of our minds as we celebrate with friends and family,” said James Thompson, chief marketing and innovation officer, Diageo North America.

“Although drunk driving fatalities are at an all-time low, every single drinking and driving death can and should be avoided. It carries additional weight this time of year. On average, 728 people are injured or killed in drunk-driving crashes each day during the holiday season, and this issue will continue to be incredibly important to Diageo.

“With VR technology on the rise both in consumer interest and utilisation, we believe this is the ideal method to directly and emotionally impact consumers.

“These days, it’s easy for us to be desensitised to certain issues unless we live them out firsthand. Our hope is that this will be truly jarring for people and will help inform responsible decision-making while enlisting their advocacy in the ongoing fight against repeat, hardcore drunk drivers.”

Diageo will continue its “long-term” commitment to technology with the development of additional user experiences that will address the issues around decision-making when drinking.

Consumers of legal drinking age can access ‘Decisions’ through Facebook 360, YouTube 360 and NYT VR and is also compatible with all VR headsets, including Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift, and Google Daydream.