A striking new campaign is rolling out in Denmark this week, aiming at drug driving, which is a growing problem among young drivers in the country. While most people instinctively understand the risks of drinking before getting behind the wheel, the dangers of cannabis-impaired driving just aren’t landing in the same way.
According to the Danish Road Safety Council, roughly a third of serious or fatal drug-related traffic accidents involve drivers aged just 17 to 24. With awareness worryingly low, the organisation has teamed up with independent creative agency Worth Your While to cut through complacency.
Titled Op i røg (or Up in Smoke), the campaign takes the consequences of drug driving and turns them into something you can literally hold in your hand. At the centre of the PR push is a set of rolling papers styled to look like Danish driving licences, which will be handed to influencers and press, offering a tongue-in-cheek reminder that lighting up a joint before driving is a fast route to watching your real licence disappear.
Alongside this physical element are two animated 30-second films directed by Jack Brown, who has previously worked with Ariana Grande, The Weeknd and Jorja Smith. The films use a green-tinted palette to tell the stories of young drivers whose licences quite literally went “up in smoke”. Although animated, the stories are grounded in real cases, which gives the work a sharp emotional edge without veering into sensationalism.
The first film, Chase, follows a disqualified young driver who borrows his father’s keys, picks up friends, smokes, and soon feels invincible enough to run a red light. When the police appear, he tries to escape, only to find himself in a holding cell. The moment that hits hardest is the shot of his mother’s devastated reaction in court.
The second film, HotBox, introduces a young woman who smokes two joints in her parked car after arguing with her boyfriend. She decides to drive, manages barely 100 metres and is swiftly pulled over. Instead of relying on shock factor, the film tracks the fallout in quite a measured manner, from the tests and the arrest to the slow realisation that everything she relies on could be lost. The main message here is that her friends, her car, and her independence have all been compromised by a moment’s decision.
Choosing animation over live action was a deliberate move, as it meant the team could avoid the awkwardness of staged reenactments while still honouring the truth of the stories. It also provided space for impactful visual metaphors, such as licences dissolving into smoke, which punctuate both films.
The wider strategy draws on research into effective deterrence campaigns, particularly in how to translate abstract risks into something relatable. In Denmark, losing your licence for drug driving means three years without driving, a heavy reliance on public transport and, often, the disappointment of family and friends. The campaign spells out those consequences clearly, rather than relying solely on fear.
Karina Petersen, VP at the Danish Road Safety Council, reinforces that the problem is bigger than most people think. She says: “Our surveys, the police charges, and the accident statistics all clearly show that far too many young Danish drivers have an overly relaxed attitude toward driving under the influence of cannabis.
“That’s why we are launching the campaign to warn the target group that their behaviour can have major consequences for themselves and others.”
Christian Berthelsen from the Danish National Police echoes that urgency, explaining: “Every year, the police charge thousands of people with drug-driving, and a large proportion of them are under the influence of cannabis.
“When you choose to take mind-altering substances and then go out into traffic, you put not only yourself but all other road users at risk.”
Worth Your While’s founding partner and creative director, Lukas Lund, says the rolling papers were designed to create a moment of friction rather than provoke for the sake of it. “It might sound wild to turn a driver’s license into rolling paper,” he says, “but sometimes you need to do something just crazy enough to make young people stop and think.”
Up in Smoke launches today across streaming platforms, mobile games, social channels and digital screens in schools and colleges, aiming to meet young people where they actually are. Whether the message lands will become clear in time, but it certainly seems they have the clever strategy and creative finesse to back it up.
