Man Meets Accountant In Bathroom to Do ‘Booze Maths’

A young man does ‘booze maths’ to argue he is okay to drive home after a few drinks in FCB Aotearoa’s latest campaign for New Zealand transport agency Waka Kotahi.

In the hero spot, produced by Sweetshop and directed by Max Barden, the man heads into the bathroom and is faced with an accountant in a cubicle, who questions his resolve.

The campaign plays on the mental calculations people make to convince themselves they are fine to drive. The man’s ‘booze maths’ includes, “I did just have a steak and chips,” “I do know these roads like the back of my hand,” and “I did have an energy drink earlier today.”

The end line is ‘Booze Maths never adds up.’

The approach was borne out of contradictory research that showed 95% of Kiwis shun drink driving, yet 1 in 10 admit to having done it in the last month. Matt Kingston, CSO at FCB Aotearoa, told LBB the agency crafted the work around a type of behaviour everyone can relate to, rather than going after a specific demographic.

“With this bit of work, although our key protagonist is a young male, we were really keen to make sure that it just wasn't a piece of communication for only young men,” he said.

“As soon as [you] get messages that have any sense of telling people what to do … people don't tend to recognise themselves in the work.

“So if you're too … heavy handed or too accusatory in any way, [people] go, ‘Oh that's not me, that's someone else’. So we went into the brief going, ‘What is a behaviour that people can see themselves in?’

“Because that just meant the odds of people buying into that work was greater.”

Accordingly, the “lighthearted tone” of ‘Booze Maths’ “felt right”.

“There was also a really interesting dynamic play out where [you were] seeing this insight reflected back at you … where people laugh along at the ad and then there's that moment where you go, ‘Shit, I do that’.

“It's both kinda kinda relatable in one way, but also terrifying because it's so recognisable.”

Matt said the “challenge for agencies” was finding “fresh” angles to talk about drink driving without trying to tell the viewer what to do, for fear of making audiences defensive. Rather than highlighting the moment a drunk driver gets pulled over or crashes, the team decided to zoom in on “little conversations” that act as “a warning sign.”

​Leisa Wall, chief creative officer of FCB Aotearoa, added, “‘Booze Maths’ feels like a really sticky way to describe something we’ve all seen but never really had a name for. And once you name it, you spot it everywhere. When your mate fires off one of those classic lines, you suddenly have this little piece of language to call it out without coming across all finger-waggy.

“We always knew humour had to lead the way. No one listens to a telling-off, so we
wanted it to feel like the kind of chat you’d actually have with yourself or your mates.

“And with the help of the audacious Max Barden, the Sweetshop team, and our cast, we found that sweet spot of delivering a cheeky, honest, and very Kiwi campaign.”

FCB Aotearoa has previously worked with Waka Kotahi on drink driving campaigns such as ‘Would You Rather’ in 2023, which featured discouragement in the form of shame, rather than tragic consequences.

The agency has also collaborated with Waka Kotahi on a campaign to eliminate driving after drug use in ‘Don’t Let The Drugs Drive’ earlier this year.

“Unlike a more commercial client where you value things like ruthless consistency and looking distinctive, with a social marketing client like Waka Kotahi, variation is actually really, really good,” Matt explained.

“I think advertising has made a significant contribution to how acceptable this behaviour is in society [and] has played a significant role in improving the culture in and around drink driving.

“It's just we're dealing with something very difficult.”

​Emma Hartley, marketing and content manager at New Zealand transport agency, said of the new work, “In the 12 months to September this year, drink driving contributed to 403 deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

“As we head into the festive season, all over the country New Zealanders will be rationalising their decision to drive home after drinking. We hope this campaign will spark conversations about this behaviour and help more people think differently about their decisions while drinking.”

The campaign will run across social, online, broadcast, out-of-home, and tactical print activations in bars across New Zealand from November 30th.