Introduction

Abstract

The Australian Government’s ‘National Binge Drinking Strategy’ (2008–2010) sought to address the ‘binge drinking epidemic’ among the country’s youth (Australian Labor Party, 2008, np). Part of this strategy involved a confronting advertising campaign designed to shock young people about the impact of binge drinking, similar to campaigns targeting smoking, HIV/AIDS and the road toll. The campaign was also designed with a particular focus on personal responsibility. Using the tagline ‘Don’t turn a night out into a nightmare’, the campaign was ‘designed to encourage teenagers and young adults to think about the choices they make about drinking, and particularly the possible negative consequences of excessive alcohol consumption’ (Department of Health and Ageing, undated, np). However, the advertisements encouraging young people to take personal responsibility in regulating their own drinking behaviour were also designed, in the words of the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, to scare ‘the living daylights out of young people about the health impact of binge drinking’ (cited in Cooper, 2008, np). For example, a group of teenage boys are depicted joking around together by a city roadside until one is hit by a car; violence erupts in a nightclub over a spilled drink; a woman falls through a coffee table while drunk at a house party; another woman is photographed having sex in a park (Curry, 2008, np).