The initiative, under way since early March, is sponsored by the 76 brand of gasoline sold by the Phillips 66 Company. It is part of a campaign that carries the theme “We’re on the driver’s side,” which began in 2009.

The initiative, planned to continue through September, is being focused in three Western states where 76 is marketed: California, Oregon and Washington. Elements include a television commercial, billboards, a special Web site, social media, events and a promotional giveaway.

The initiative is being produced by Venables Bell Partners in San Francisco, which is the creative agency of record for 76 and the other gasoline brands sold by the Phillips 66 Company, Conoco and Phillips 66. The budget for the initiative is estimated at $5.5 million.

The initiative urges drivers to stop “honkaholism” — the incessant beeping of car horns that bothers passengers, pedestrians and other drivers. It is styled like a public service campaign aimed at eradicating a societal ill, seeking to make people aware of the problem and then offering a solution.

For instance, the commercial — which can be watched on the special Web site, stophonkaholism.com, as well as on television — starts with an angry man behind the wheel of a car at a crosswalk, is honking loudly as bewildered children stare.

“Is your honking out of control?” a calm-voiced announcer asks. “You might be showing signs of honkaholism.”

“Now you can put an end to all the beeping honking,” the announcer continues, “with the 76 Honk Suppressor.” The reference is to the giveaway item, a toy shaped like a hockey puck that bears a resemblance to the Easy button from the Staples retail chain.

At the center of the Honk Suppressor, which can be attached to a dashboard, is a piece of red rubber or plastic bearing the 76 brand logo; when pressed down upon, it makes a bleating sound like a child’s doll or a dog’s squeaky toy.

The Honk Suppressor is “the perfectly safe honking alternative,” the announcer declares, “designed to wean even the most beeping honkers off their beeping.”

On screen, the angry man’s wife gives him a Honk Suppressor as he is driving off to work the next morning. Now he is a formerly angry man, poking his Honk Suppressor vigorously as an elderly woman slowly crosses the street in front of him.

As the woman smiles and waves, an expression crosses the man’s face that seems to say, “I’m O.K. with this.”

The announcer concludes, “Order yours free at stophonkaholism.com,” then finishes up with “We’re on the driver’s side.”

(The Honk Suppressor was originally available to anyone who filled out a request form at the special Web site, but has since been limited to drivers who live in the three Western states where the initiative is being concentrated.)

Taking a stance against unnecessary horn-honking is another step toward helping “to put a more human face on” the 76 brand, says Tami Walker, manager for brand management at the Phillips 66 Company in Houston, as part of the “We’re on the driver’s side” campaign.

(As for her repetitious title, Ms. Walker says, laughing, that she lives “in the land of redundancy.”)

The genesis of the campaign was attitudes among drivers who “think all fuel brands are the same,” Ms. Walker says, or “don’t think much about fuel brands.”

“As proud as we are to sell the top-tier fuels that we do,” she adds — echoing a line from 76 ads about its status as “top-tier gas” — “the thing most valuable to us about the car is the person behind the wheel.”

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/business/media/gasoline-brand-urges-drivers-to-stop-honkaholism.html?partner=rss&emc=rss