The Drugline and Happiness wonder if it is alcohol time all the time …

A glass of bubbles at a baby shower, a pint with colleagues or a nice triple after a long bike ride with the cycling club. A glass of alcohol often is 'part of the deal'. But is that really the case? And is alcohol actually appropriate in some of these situations? That is what De Druglijn and Happiness investigated with a new campaign, that is part of the Flemish government's 'Interfederal plan 2023-2025 to combat harmful alcohol consumption'. So, time to take a closer look at our alcohol habits.

Even though alcohol is an unhealthy product, it seems to be part of our lives automatically, without thinking. It’s a force of habit. But is it always alcohol time? All the time? The campaign, developed by Happiness, questions that apparent obviousness via out-of-home postering, social media and a new AI tool. All media had one common denominator: to take a closer look at our drinking habits.

In the streets, we saw posters popping up, showing situations in which many consider the use of alcohol to be normal. The OOH campaign encouraged passers-by to reflect on each case.

On social, the campaign kicked off with a special experiment. At a youth football tournament that took place in the morning, the amount of alcohol served by canteen staff was counted via hidden camera. Cath Luyten then took the images to the parents and grandparents present, which led to divided but nuanced opinions. Cath also took to the streets, with her camera and 'alcohol wheel' ready, to ask interviewees on which occasions alcohol was or was not appropriate.

And as a third eye-catcher, Happiness developed the Insta-alcoholtest test for this campaign. Using AI, this tool scans your Instagram profile and discreetly and safely shows you what percentage of your photos contains alcohol. This Insta-alcohol test is also meant to make you think. About when you drink, but also about what you share on your socials. Because research shows that the more photos with alcohol you share, the more those photos encourage others to drink alcohol too.