Men In New Zealand Media: "Mate!" Anti-Drink Driving Ad

In New Zealand there is a common stereotype that young men are loud, rowdy alcohol-consumers. LTNZ (Land Transport New Zealand) uses this representation in a TV ad to relate to the audience in an effort to stop people from drink-driving.

The "Mate!" anti-drink driving TV ad portrays young men as social, boisterous characters who hang out in bars and drink lots of beer:

The social nature of the men is shown by the constant exchange of the word "Mate!" between the characters, and by the way that the men are always close together in a small but open group. Young men are also portrayed as being loud and boisterous in the ad, which contains plenty of enthusiastic speaking and extroverted behaviour by the characters. The setting of the advertisement and the actions of the men in the ad tell the audience that young men hang out in bars and drink lots of beer. The techniques used in the ad are effective in portraying the characters as "typical Kiwi young blokes" because they show behavioural characteristics commonly found in men of that age. This makes the characters plausible to the audience, which in turn helps give the ad's message credibility.

KIWI YOUNG MEN: Social, energetic drinkers

The "Mate!" ad creates this representation to try and persuade young men not to drink and drive. By showing men being social and loud while drinking in a bar the ad is attempting to relate to as much of the young male demographic as possible. This is so that when the drink-driver crashes at the end of the ad it impacts on a greater amount of people than if the ad portrayed young men as something unusual, such as scooter-riders or Jenga enthusiasts. Going out for drinks and being social is a normal part of life for many young men, and the anti-drink driving ad uses this stereotypical behaviour to relate to that target audience and influence their decisions when in similar scenarios.

The stereotype that young men are loud, rowdy pub-goers differs from reality because in real-life there are plenty of young males who do not behave like this or visit bars. This is not shown in the ad, as it focuses only on a group of men who do.

This representation of how young men act can affect the target audience in a few ways. For those who are similar in behaviour and pastimes to the men in the ad, the message that "If you drink then drive, you're a bloody idiot" is likely to sink in better as they can relate to the characters and situation in the ad. The ad may have a different effect on the young men who don't fit the presented stereotype, however. The happiness displayed by the characters could inspire non-stereotypical young male viewers to act in ways similar to the men on the screen, or on the other hand the ad's shocking ending could dissuade these people from drinking or going to pubs altogether.

BLOODY IDIOT: Young male stereotypes combine with an
up-front slogan to discourage drink-driving

The stereotype that young men are loud and drink excessively (supported by the "Mate!" ad) has a big effect on the way that society views this target audience. Many older people have disapproving opinions about young men, and this may lead to prejudice and prejudgement of the behaviour of young males who they come into contact with. This can lead to men who never drink irresponsibly (ie. before driving) being judged and treated as if they are boisterous, out-of-control citizens by people who don't know them and are influenced by media representations.

Young men in New Zealand are often stereotyped as being loud, beer-drinking socialisers, and the "Mate!" TV ad uses this representation to relate to its target audience and convince them not to drink and drive.