With summer driving season in full swing—and the most dangerous months for alcohol-impaired crashes underway, the Ad Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have unveiled a new national PSA aimed at preventing buzzed driving.
Titled “Lost in a Flash,” the new :30 spot underscores the real, often irreversible human cost of getting behind the wheel after drinking. The campaign launches at a critical moment: according to NHTSA’s most recent data, alcohol-impaired crashes claim a life every 42 minutes, and roughly 30% of all U.S. traffic fatalities involve a driver under the influence.
Created pro bono by MEL, a culture-first creative agency, the PSA zeroes in on Hispanic male drivers ages 21–34, a demographic identified as high-risk and underserved by traditional safety messaging. Delivered in Spanglish and designed to resonate emotionally and culturally, the PSA offers a stark message: buzzed driving can erase everything you live for in an instant.
The spot ends with the campaign’s enduring tagline: “Manejar Buzzed es Manejar Drunk” (Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving), anchoring the message in both language and accountability. Watch below:
“This new creative taps into emotion and duty, connecting directly with our audiences to remind them that buzzed driving is drunk driving,” said Michelle Hillman, Chief Campaign Development Officer at the Ad Council. “Since 1983, we’ve worked to shift cultural norms around impaired driving—and that mission continues today.”
Peter Simshauser, Chief Counsel at NHTSA, echoed the urgency, “A crash caused by buzzed driving doesn’t just impact one person—it ripples through families and communities. This new PSA is a critical reminder: plan ahead and make safe choices.”
Luis Miguel Messianu, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of MEL, emphasized the agency’s approach: “There is no better way to elevate communities than by meeting people where they are—culturally and linguistically—and by ensuring the safety of families during this historically dangerous time of year.”
The campaign will run nationally across TV, digital, print, and out-of-home platforms in time and space donated by the media. Since its inception in 2000, the Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving campaign has delivered more than 25 billion impressions, helping reframe what it means to be truly sober behind the wheel.
As summer celebrations continue, the message is clear: buzzed is not “better than drunk.” It’s the same, and just as dangerous.
CREDITS:
BRAND: AD COUNCIL
AGENCY: MEL
- CCO & Founder Luis Miguel Messianu
- CGO, Managing Director Michelle Cobas
- CSO Omar Quiñones
- Executive Creative Director Danny Alvarez
- Head of Client Services Jennifer Rangel
- Senior Producer Jenny Valladares
- Business Affairs Sara Sax
- Client: AdCouncil
- Chief Campaign Development Officer Michelle Hillman
- SVP, Group Campaign Director Dzu Bui
- Campaign Director Milan Genovese O’Malley
- Assistant Campaign Manager Noel Sanchez
- Director, Strategy & Evaluation Anuar Saab
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Landia
- Production Supervisor: Claudia Rivas
- Director: Ariel Danziger
- MP & Executive Producer Juan Taylor
- EP Nelly Castillo
- EP Joan Pla
- Line Producer: Leda NasioDOP: Lucas Gath
- Production Designer: Eric Beauchamp
- Art Director: Gaston Schwarzwald /
- Make-Up Artist: Carmen Lopez
- Wardrobe Stylist: Naty Pineda
- Photographer: Milos Nasio
- Landia Post Credits:
- Producer: Leo Mercado
EDIT: MVP Editorial
Editor: Camila Crespo
COLOR: Nadia Khairat Gomez @nadia.khairat
VFX/ Online: Les Amateurs
VFX Sup: Gabi Alberton
SOUND DESIGN: BDS
MUSIC AND AUDIO: ANIMAL
- Producer: Alejandra Maldonado
- Rerecording Studio / Engineer: Sebastian
- Benaderet Music: True Innovations
- Stock Music Getty Music Turn Me Up – Instrumental
CASTING: Castingland Miami
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