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EVALUATION OF THE DRUGS DRIVING TV ADVERT

CHAPTER ONE Introduction

1.1 This report presents the findings of an evaluation of a recent television advert aimed at discouraging people from driving under the influence of illegal drugs ('drug driving'). The 40-second advert was devised by Faulds Advertising on behalf of the Scottish Road Safety Campaign's Drug Drive Working Group, and was shown on commercial television channels in Scotland between 20 ^th May 2002 and 16 ^th June 2002.

1.2 The advert begins by showing what are apparently clips from American police video footage of people being tested for drug driving, attempting to touch their nose with their fingers, walk in a straight line, count backwards etc. It is intended to make the viewer laugh. This is followed by an onscreen message reading: 'In America, these tests are 94% successful in helping convict people who have been driving under the influence of drugs'. The footage then switches to a police check in a Scottish city. A blurry-eyed man is shown attempting to touch his nose, and an on-screen message comes up reading 'The same tests are now being carried out in Scotland.' Having failed the test, the driver is shown in the back of a police car. The slogan on screen at the end reads 'Now who's laughing?'.

The research background

1.3 The drug driving television advert is a response to rising concern about the issue of drug driving in Scotland. A recent NFO System Three research report for the Scottish Executive (Ingram et al, 2000) which sought to establish the prevalence of drug driving in Scotland found that 9% of respondents in a survey of 17-39 year-old drivers reported ever having driven under the influence of drugs, and 5% reported having done so in the previous 12 months.

1.4 The research found that males were far more likely than females to report having driven under the influence of drugs, and that those in the 20-24 year-old age group were more likely to have driven under the influence of drugs than any other age group. Cannabis was the drug most commonly used before driving, reflecting its dominance in drug taking generally. The survey also suggested that knowledge of the legal position regarding illegal drug use and driving is quite poor - 12% of respondents thought someone could not be prosecuted for driving after taking illegal drugs, while 23% were unsure whether someone could be prosecuted or not.

1.5 Qualitative research carried out for the Scottish Executive at the same time identified several potential problems with drug-driving prevention campaigns (Neale et al, 2001). These included: the resistance of young people and drug users to health education messages; the alarmist and moralistic nature of many previous anti-drug campaigns; a widespread belief that driving after cannabis is safe; and the fact that drug taking itself is illegal.

1.6 The Drug Driving TV advert was designed in the light of these research findings. It aims to target groups at particularly high risk of drug driving, to heighten awareness of the legal position on drug driving, and to increase levels of concern about being caught. It is intended to appeal particularly to young drivers/passengers in the 17-24 year-old age group. The main purpose of the evaluation was to assess how successful the advert was in achieving these aims. Specific issues the research sought to address included:

• General levels of awareness of the advert, particularly among the target age group

• General attitudes towards the advert, especially in terms of understanding of its key messages

• The extent to which young drivers could identify with the situations and characters shown

• The overall impact of the advert on viewers - does it makes drivers and passengers think about the consequences of drug-driving behaviour? Is it successful in heightening awareness of the legal consequences of drug-driving?

Research methods

1.7 The evaluation consisted of three main components. Firstly, questions were included in the Scottish Opinion Survey (SOS) in June 2002 to establish baseline levels of awareness and understanding of the advert. The SOS is carried out on a monthly basis, and involves interviews with 1000 adults (aged 16 and over) from across Scotland. Sampling is based on quotas for sex, working status and geographical location. Interviews are carried out face-to-face in people's homes by NFO interviewers using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI). Inclusion of 6 questions in the SOS allowed general levels of awareness of the advert to be established in the period immediately after it was shown on Scottish television.

1.8 Secondly, a further survey of Scottish drivers was carried out between late July and early September 2002. Again, the survey was carried out by NFO interviewers using CAPI machines in respondent's homes. The interview included a self-completion section (where respondents keyed responses directly into the CAPI machine) for more sensitive questions relating to their personal experiences of drug use and of drug and drink driving.

1.9 A quota design, based on sex, age and working status, was used for sampling drivers. The sample was skewed disproportionately towards younger drivers in the 17-24, 25-34 and 35-44 year-old age groups to allow us to analyse results for these groups separately. However, where overall results are presented, percentages have been weighted to take account of the disproportionate sampling of younger drivers, and should represent the general population of drivers. At the close of fieldwork, a total of 730 interviews had been achieved. The breakdown of interviews between drivers in different age groups is shown below. Further details of the methodology of the survey component are contained in Annex A.

Table 1.1 Interviews achieved with drivers in different age groups

1.10 The third component of the evaluation consisted of a series of qualitative interviews with 17-24 year-olds. Two main sorts of interview were conducted: peer focus groups with mixed sex groups of friends, and paired depth interviews with couples and pairs of friends. For each interview, a 'core' participant who met certain demographic criteria was recruited initially, and then asked to help recruit friends with whom they regularly socialise. All core participants had some experience of cannabis use (either past or present), which was viewed as putting them at higher than average risk of having experienced drug-driving, either as a driver or passenger. A total of 10 interviews (5 of each type) were conducted in September 2002 in both rural and urban areas in Scotland. Further details on the composition and segmentation of these can be found in Annex A.

1.11 The decision to interview respondents in friendship groups/pairs was made on the basis of the potential sensitivity of the topic of drug driving. Although the main purpose of the project was to evaluate the advert, it was felt that some discussion of participants' own views and experiences of drug-driving would help contextualise their reactions to the advert. It was anticipated that the existing level of trust between participants would encourage openness about drug-driving behaviour. It was also anticipated that allowing discussion of drug-driving to take place in the social context in which the behaviour itself might occur might produce insights about this kind of behaviour that may not have emerged in a conventional focus group setting.

1.12 In each interview, participants were shown a video of the advert twice and were asked a range of questions about their attitudes and reactions to the advert and about their own views and experiences of drug-driving.

Structure of the report

1.13 The report is structured as follows. Drawing on both the qualitative research and results from the self-completion section of the survey of drivers, Chapter Two presents key findings on respondents' views and experiences of drug driving. Chapter Three summarises results on basic levels of awareness and understanding of the drug driving television advert from the Scottish Opinion Survey and the survey of drivers. It then discusses understanding of the advert in more detail, drawing primarily on findings from the qualitative element of the research. Chapter Four considers specific issues relating to the content and style of the advert in more detail, again drawing primarily on the qualitative study. Specific questions considered in this section include: is the advert realistic? What did respondents think of the characters featured in the advert? Do the two halves of the advert have the same impact? And how appropriate is the use of humour in the advert? Chapter Five outlines findings on recognition and understanding of the 'Know the Score' and 'Scottish Road Safety Campaign' logos. Finally, Chapter Six attempts to draw some conclusions from the findings presented in the report for the direction of future campaigns on drug driving.

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