News

The island of Ireland Coca-Cola Designated Driver campaign was launched in Dublin by television and radio broadcaster Aoibhinn Ni Shúilleabháin. Speaking at the launch Aoibhinn said: “Christmas is one of my favorite times of year and I’m really looking forward to meeting up and enjoying nights out with my friends and family. The Coca-Cola Designated Driver campaign is an excellent idea and I’ll certainly be availing of some drinks on the house, when playing the role of designated driver this year”.

The aim of the campaign is to reduce instances of drink driving and promote safety during the festive season, when pubs are busier than ever with people celebrating Christmas with a night on the town. The recent introduction of even more stringent drink driving laws is expected to mean that the campaign, which rewards designated drivers with free drinks from the Coca-Cola range, will be more popular than ever.

In order to cater for personal preferences, consumers can select choose from the wide Coca-Cola portfolio including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Fanta Orange, Fanta Lemon, Fruice Juices and Cordials, Deep RiverRock Still and Sparkling and Appletiser.

Kylie Dunlop, Marketing Manager, Licensed Trade, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland, said:  “Christmas is about giving and celebrating and through the Designated Driver programme, Coca-Cola is delighted to offer free soft drinks, juice and bottled water as a tangible reward to consumers for volunteering to be the designated driver on fun night outs this festive season.”

The Designated Driver campaign is supported by An Garda Siochana, Drinkaware.ie and the Road Safety Authority in the Republic of Ireland, as well as The Police Service of Northern Ireland and The Department of the Environment. It is also backed by the Licensed Vintners Association, the Vintners Federation of Ireland, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the Irish Hotels Federation and the Irish Nightclub Industry Association.

Fionnuala Sheehan, Chief Executive of drinkaware.ie, expressed her support for the initiative stating: “We are delighted to fully endorse the Coca-Cola Designated Driver campaign and encourage the public to avail of it.  The campaign is a practical initiative that will encourage  responsible drinking around the busy Christmas period.”
 
Assistant Commissioner John Twomey, Head of the Garda National Traffic Bureau said: “We have supported this Designated Driver campaign since it started in 2004 and we believe that it is an important initiative in helping to encourage all road users to take responsibility and always put safety first. Our priority is keeping the roads as safe as possible and by designating a driver you are doing your bit to help prevent further deaths and serious injuries on our roads.”

The campaign’s website www.designateddriver.ie provides a full list of participating licensed outlets across the country. This year, for the first time, Designated Drivers will be able to download their free drinks vouchers before they visit the venues via the site or by scanning the QR code featured on outdoor advertisements.

A Designated Driver is defined as someone who is driving friends and family home from a night out socialising, while abstaining from alcohol for the evening. The Designated Driver may avail of FREE soft drinks from the Coca-Cola range over the course of the evening in participating licensed premises.

For more information, please contact:
Public Affairs and Communications Manager
Coca-Cola HBC Ireland
Phone number: + 353 1 880 7100