Malibu teams up with Tom Daley for safety campaign

Fresh off the back of an Olympic silver medal and retirement announcement, Olympic medalist Tom Daley has teamed up with alcohol brand Malibu in a category first to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking alcohol in and around water. The catchy, innovative campaign created by Wieden + Kennedy London, has successfully created a splash capitalising on the summer of sport to deliver a message of safety.

‘Don’t Drink and Dive’ arrives just in time to ride the post-Olympics and end-of-summer wave. A light-hearted and upbeat collaboration, the campaign effectively uses this cultural moment, and beloved Team GB athlete, to drive home an important message. The campaign follows Malibu’s ‘Do Whatever Tastes Good’ platform, encouraging audiences to have fun whilst being responsible.

In partnership with the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), a water safety education and awareness charity in the UK, Malibu has set out to bring attention to water safety. According to the charity, one out of four incidents of drowning are alcohol-related. Launched in mid-August, it is hoped the work will help raise awareness about safer drinking this summer and beyond.

Matt Croxall, Charity Director RLSS UK, explained: "Sadly, the risks of being around water under the influence of alcohol can be underestimated. This campaign, whilst on the surface appearing light-hearted, seeks to resonate and deliver a lifesaving message around the importance of not drinking alcohol and getting into water in any capacity”.

Piggybacking off of Daley’s famous love for knitting, the campaign features a range of knitted goods, alongside the diver himself. Knitwear includes: sunglasses, swimming shorts, a bucket hat, and sliders.

Some of the knitted apparel is available for purchase as an exclusive range from www.bytomdaley.com, via Daley’s brand, Made With Love. The collection was designed in collaboration with Daley and all proceeds will be donated to the charity RLSS UK.

The hero film has lyrics from the song ‘Piña Colada’ by Rupert Holmes. Use of the lyric, "If you like the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne”, is intended to highlight how swimming and drinking might sound desirable but is actually very dangerous.

In this 15 second clip, we see Daley get ready to take a dive. But before he enters the water, he reads the fact: ‘One in four UK drownings involve alcohol’, at the bottom of the pool. After finding out this information, Daley makes the sensible decision to turn back. When he turns around audiences can see his knitted shorts read: ‘don’t drink and dive’. A play on the famous ‘don’t drink and drive’ motto.

Four 10 second films accompany the campaign, each with a different iteration of the same safety message. The multi-channel ‘Don’t Drink and Dive’ campaign was activated by floating out-of-home displays, including the kick-off that occurred at Brighton Beach.

Daley, the campaign ambassador, posed in signature knitwear in front of a 2.4 meters high ‘1 in 4’ statistic. As part of the activation, a statue made of pebbles from Brighton Beach was erected to remind audiences of the aforementioned statistic. It aimed to tackle what research recently found to be Brit’s relaxed attitudes to drinking alcohol around water.

The campaign will also be featured across social and paid digital, spanning both Daley and Malibu’s own platforms. Helping to drive the safety message home in a friendly and easily palatable way, Wieden + Kennedy London’s creative production studio, WracK, created vibrant visual assets.

Craig van Niekerk, VP of Marketing at Malibu, added: “What we’re dealing with here is a serious issue, and Don’t Drink and Dive signals Malibu’s fully committed ambition to leveraging a long-term responsible drinking, behaviour-change platform, which raises awareness of the very real risks surrounding alcohol consumption near water”.

The campaign will continue to do good beyond raising awareness. It is raising funds for water safety education and drowning prevention in the UK and Ireland. Malibu is pledging financial support to the RLSS UK charity.

Proving that brands can do good for audiences, the ‘Don’t Drink and Dive’ campaign successfully utilises the Olympic halo to deliver an important message. With an accessible tone, vibrant visuals, and a national treasure, the work effectively and authentically connects with consumers.