As part of a "social norms" pilot program, the Broward County Commission on Substance Abuse partnered with Broward County Schools to create an anti-drinking marketing campaign that targeted students at Everglades High School. In stark contrast to traditional anti-drinking marketing campaigns that focus on negative health messages and images, we created a classic social norms campaign that focused on the healthy choices peers are making as borne out by student surveys. The two-year campaign got students to recognize the reality that most of them (4 out of 5 to be precise) don't drink when they hang out with their friends. The take-away message was empowering: It's okay (and even cool) not to drink.
