DANCEHALL artiste Konshens is encouraging Kenyans to be responsible when drinking, even as they party to his songs. The deejay is part of a national safety-first campaign by Diageo Kenya Breweries.

He got involved with the drive after visiting the East African country early this month. He performed at a concert sponsored by Diageo.

“We used him because he has a big following in the country, and we took the opportunity since he was here courtesy of one of our beer brands,” said Eric Kiniti, corporate relations director at Diageo Kenya Breweries.

Kiniti stated that as a dancehall artiste, Konshens has a big influence on teens and young adults, which is his company’s target audience.

“The audience was excited about it. There were significant hits on our brand websites, social media and YouTube,” he said.

Kenya Breweries Limited’s AIS campaign, ‘Life Moves On When You’re Gone-Stay Alive, Don’t Drink and Drive’ was launched early this year. It won an award for Best CSR Campaign 2014 from the Marketing Society of Kenya.

The ceremony took place November 14 in Nairobi, the country’s capital. Diageo’s campaign is similar to Johnnie Walker’s popular designated driver ads that featured popular cricketers such as former Leeward Islands and West Indies captain Viv Richards.

— Simone Morgan