To confront persistent misconceptions around marijuana consumption and driving, the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) enlisted us to support their Drug-Impaired Driving Prevention initiative with a new campaign launching in November 2025 — a seasonally relevant moment ahead of Thanksgiving, when the target is more likely to consume marijuana. The goal for the work was to establish real-world consequences for this audience that, in large part, is willfully ignorant about all the bad things that can happen when you drive impaired by marijuana. And that’s not an easy job. If someone believes something isn’t a problem, you can’t just say, “Actually it IS a problem.” Even when it’s illegal. You have to make them experience the problem. So, rather than just surfacing the consequences, we leveraged the target’s willful ignorance, using their own words, to land our message with maximum impact. Do you think it’s OK, under any circumstances, to drive high? You do? How about we take a ride.
There’s a whole quiver of justifications and personal beliefs people pull out to defend driving while impaired by marijuana. "It heightens my senses.” “It helps me focus.” “If anything, I actually drive better." Arbitrary statements like these are easier to accept, and impossible to condemn, in the context of casual conversation. But they’re exposed for what they are when dragged into the harsh light of serious consequences.
According to the Ad Council, this has been one of the most successful launches in the history of its partnership with NHTSA. And, in the coming months, they’ll be able to share information on donated media value, impressions and detections the work is receiving. But, so far, awareness and engagement have exceeded expectations. For example, earned media coverage delivered a combined reach of 1,407,735 unique monthly visitors. So, while it’s too soon to report final results, early indicators point to real impact.
