Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) under their Red Card Initiative, on Friday launched a responsible drinking campaign that is aimed at engaging consumers to make a commitment to never drink and drive, in a bid to reduce drink driving incidents in Uganda.
The campaign dubbed “Join the Pact to never drink and drive” is a continuation of Diageo’s worldwide Join the Pact campaign that has been implemented in over 40 countries since 2008. Diageo, through their Johnnie Walker brand, partnered with global rally champions like Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button as campaign ambassadors and engaged consumers to show their responsible drinking commitment by making a pledge online. The campaign has attracted over 13 million commitments to never drink and drive from inception to date. In Uganda, Join the Pact is targeting to collect 10,000 commitments over a period of 6 months.
Speaking during the launch of the campaign, Uganda Breweries Managing Legal and Corporate Relations Director Charity Kiyemba said, “Incidences of drink driving account for about 5% of road accidents in Kampala according to Kampala Metropolitan Traffic Police. We at Uganda Breweries, are concerned about our consumers who put themselves at risk through irresponsible practices like drink driving. It is for this reason therefore that we are launching this campaign to promote responsible alcohol consumption and practices.”
To spearhead the campaign in Uganda, UBL has appointed award winning female dancehall artiste, Vinka, real names Veronica Luggya as Ambassador. Vinka will lead the campaign for 6 months, alongside media personality, Flavia Tumusiime and businessman, Innocent Nahabwe.
“We handpicked these Ambassadors because they show responsible attitudes towards alcohol and resonate well with our consumers. Vinka is very popular especially among the young generation which we are specifically targeting with this campaign. She will use her music and social media platforms to encourage her fan base to Join the Pact to never drink and drive,” Kiyemba said.
She added that having Flavia Tumusiime and Innocent Nahabwe as Ambassadors also gives UBL an even bigger platform to continue with the brewery’s 7-year commitment on driving awareness on responsible alcohol consumption.
UBL will for the next 6 months be interacting with consumers online, in bars, alcohol selling outlets and universities to encourage them to make a commitment Join the Pact. They will also be giving away free UBER rides to consumers who sign the pact.