SAB campaign combats under-age drinking

16 Nov 2015

South African Breweries is encouraging young adults to 'be the mentor you wish you'd had' as part of the 18+ campaign to prevent under-age drinking. SAB hopes to inspire a movement of change with the mentors across the country pledging to accept responsibility for educating a younger friend or relative about choices and their consequences.

Monwabisi Fandeso, SAB's Executive Director Corporate Affairs and Transformation, said that statistics indicated that one out of every two teenagers in the average South African home has used alcohol. "With both long- and short-term harmful consequences resulting from under-age drinking, we view this as unacceptable. SAB has, therefore, been committed to addressing this problem for a number of years already and this new 18+ campaign is our latest bold step towards combatting under-age drinking."

One-hundred-and-fifty South Africans from Joburg, Durban and Cape Town aged between 23 and 30 years old have been appointed to champion the cause and rally other South Africans to rise to the challenge of being a mentor. Rather than being celebrities, the chosen champions are ordinary men and women working in diverse fields from political science, finance, entertainment, HR and advertising. These young adults will share their stories of the mistakes they made in their teenage years and the advice they are now be able to share with their younger mentees.

Hard-hitting TV commercial

The 18+ 'Be the Mentor' campaign, which broke with a hard-hitting TV commercial last weekend, is targeted at young adults as this group is unencumbered by the generational issues that parents or teachers have and, therefore, have greater influence over under-age youths. "Teenagers need role models and mentors who set positive examples for them to follow and who offer inspiration and guidance," said Pepe Marais, Chief Creative Officer, Joe Public, the agency responsible for the creative and production of the campaign.

Social entrepreneur and 18+ campaign mentor Katlego Ditwana said she was lucky to grow up surrounded by family and friends who often gave good advice. "When I think of all the crazy, stupid things my mates and I got up to when we were kids, I wonder how different my life would have been if we'd taken that step too far, gone down the wrong path. Having relatives and family to guide me helped set me on the path I'm on today."

Instant Grass Marketing appointed the 150 mentors and will oversee their duties of rallying community engagement. "We want them be active on their social networks, both digital and otherwise, and share stories of how they have influenced their younger peers and siblings," said Instant Grass Project Manager Sibongile Bean.

"South Africans are encouraged to go to www.sabstories.co.za/alcohol-issues to take the pledge, download the guides, take on a mentor role and make a difference to someone's life starting today," Fandeso said.