After nixing a sexist anti-DUI ad campaign that gained international notoriety, the Tennessee Department of Transportation is paying millions in state funds on another attempt to educate the public about highway safety.
The state last week hired Austin-based Tuerff-Davis Enviromedia Inc., which won the $11.5 million contract to oversee the Governor’s Highway Safety Office media campaign. The state will pay $2.5 million with the remainder of the costs covered by the federal government. Earlier this year, state officials emphasized all of the funding for the controversial anti-DUI campaign came from the federal government.
The new campaign will focus not only on programs aimed at stopping impaired driving but other highway safety issues including motorcycle safety and seat belt use, according to contract documents.
“We’ll be starting fresh with the Tennessee campaigns, but we’ll be using our years of experience on behavior change to nudge Tennesseans (to) drive safer,” Kevin Tuerff, president and co-founder of Tuerff-Davis Enviromedia Inc., said Tuesday.
The new contract comes on the heels of the state apologizing, then cancelling its former anti-DUI campaign run by a Knoxville-based marketing firm after the campaign went viral. In mid-July, the state took down an anti-DUI website after coming under intense criticism for the slogans it used, including those that referred to girls looking “hotter” to guys under the influence and being “chatty” or “clingy.” Many, including state lawmakers and Tennessee residents, deemed the campaign sexist. (continue reading at Tennessean)