The Tekry jury comprised researcher and writer, Virpi Hämeen-Anttila; minister of health and social services, Paula Risikko; Erkki Vartiainen, assistant director general of the National Institute for Health and Welfare; Olli-Pekka Heinonen, director of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE); and chairman Janne Juvakka, Tekry’s executive director.
The jury commended the beverage industry for undertaking concrete action with regard to social responsibility.
The campaign had a favourable impact on young people’s attitudes to alcohol, reaching the target group with a fresh, bold approach.
This is the 12th time that Tekry has presented its Health Promotion Act of the Year award.
“The ‘Drunk, you’re a fool’ campaign is a concrete example of corporate social responsibility in the beverage industry,” said Tekry’s executive director, Janne Juvakka, at the award ceremony.
“I hope that this award-winning campaign will encourage companies to undertake more extensive participation in health-promoting activities and solving shared problems. These types of campaigns open up brand new opportunities for partnerships between businesses, the public sector and associations.”
Yrjö Närhinen, chairman of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry, is both surprised and delighted by the award: “Granting a health award to a corporate player is a brave choice. We are delighted by this recognition, and it has encouraged us to co-operate with health industry organisations.”
In his speech, Juvakka also commended the way in which the campaign was implemented.
“The campaign was aimed at influencing Finns’ attitudes to alcohol, so that alcohol would be used in greater moderation and drunkenness would become less socially acceptable. It was also implemented in a way that spoke to the target audience.”
Jury member Paula Risikko, the minister of health and social services, agrees.
“The campaign was targeted at young people, who are an essential group to reach. Its bold approach differs from traditional awareness campaigns, and its content and implementation method are evidence that the target group has been taken into consideration. The systematic evaluation of the campaign’s effect is also praiseworthy.”
The analysis of both the campaign’s success and the reactions that it evoked were one basis for the award.
“It is rare for an awareness campaign to be evaluated so thoroughly. Its effects have been studied by some of Finland’s leading youth and socio-political researchers, such as Mikko Salasuo and Tommi Hoikkala,” says Juvakka.
The ‘Drunk, you’re a fool’ campaign was implemented in 2007–2008 with a large Internet presence. It was aimed at young adults between eighteen and thirty.
The Health Promotion Act of the Year award is presented annually in recognition of notable efforts to highlight a health-promoting activity or perspective that it is hoped will expand in scope.
Almost thirty entries competed for this year’s award. Minister of health and social services, Paula Risikko, presented the award to the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry’s chairman, Yrjö Närhinen; vice chairman, Pekka Tiainen and managing director, Timo Jaatinen, at Tekry’s spring celebration in Helsinki on 22 April.
Source: The Finnish Centre for Health Promotion
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