Evolution of institutional social communication campaigns on alcohol, drugs and pharmaceuticals for road safety in Spain

Resumen

Institutional social communication campaigns are an important tool for raising public awareness of different social problems, behaviors and risk factors. Particularly on road safety, they have been constantly developed in Spain since the 1960s, and given their importance from an epidemiological perspective, those referring to the risk of alcohol, drug and pharmaceutical consumption have been constant up to the present day. In this context, the aim of this study is to analyze the evolution of the message and the communicative strategies of the campaigns on the consumption of substances while driving in Spain. The methodology used is based on an exhaustive review of all the historical spots broadcast by the General Directorate of Traffic and issued nationwide, recording and evaluating the content of these communicative pieces, including slogans and treatment of the tone of the message, with the aim of identifying patterns in the communicative approach. A significant transformation in the nature of the messages was observed over the years, starting with campaigns that adopted a predominantly informative and educational tone and evolving, over the years, to an increase in impact, through the intensity and realism of the messages and images broadcast and, more recently, to the development of a trend towards more diversified and heterogeneous communication strategies. Certain deficits are identified in the content of traffic advertisements on the consumption of alcohol, drugs and/or psychotropic drugs, for which proposals are made for the development of future campaigns.

Palabras clave:

Road Safety; Traffic; Communication Campaigns; Public Health; Drugs; Alcohol.

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Autores

Mireia Faus - Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Tráfico y Seguridad Vial (INTRAS), Universitat de València, España
Francisco Alonso - Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Tráfico y Seguridad Vial (INTRAS), Universitat de València, España
Cristina Esteban - Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Tráfico y Seguridad Vial (INTRAS), Universitat de València, España
Macarena Tortosa - Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Tráfico y Seguridad Vial (INTRAS), Universitat de València, España

Financiación

Los autores declaran que no ha habido financiación

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54108/10107