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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Monday, December 1, 2008 2:44 PM CST
Illinois takes to MySpace to discourage drunken driving

By MIKE RIOPELL, JG/T-C Springfield Bureau
mike.riopell@lee.net

SPRINGFIELD — The state is taking an upcoming advertising campaign to discourage drunken driving to the popular social networking Web site MySpace.

State records show the Illinois Department of Transportation plans to spend $683,000 on various television, Internet and billboard ads starting in mid-December and running just into the new year. The goal is to prevent drinking and driving around the holidays.

Among the various TV stations set to host the ads, the state plans to spend $15,000 advertising with MySpace, Inc., according to records.

Department of Transportation spokeswoman Paris Ervin said the state is trying to target men ages 21 to 34 with both the TV and Internet ads.

“We feel it’s a very effective and efficient medium for this demographic,” Ervin said.

The social networking sites sometimes come under scrutiny when people post photos of themselves consuming alcohol. Both MySpace and Facebook are consistently rated among the most visited Web sites in the country.

Now, the state also is running television ads featuring NASCAR drivers in order to encourage people to use their seat belts. Those run through Sunday, including being posted to Facebook.

Contact Mike Riopell at mike.riopell@lee.net or 789-0865

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Techno-less wrote on Dec 1, 2008 4:34 AM:

" I can't wait to start hearing from all the "I'll drink to that" commentators. Go ahead. Just stay out of the car. "

Rotty wrote on Dec 1, 2008 9:42 AM:

" I'm sure this will go over like a lead balloon.

Last I heard, there weren't too many people singing the praises for more commercials, let alone spam.

While I understand what they're attempting to do, personally, I think the money could be put to better use. "

medic57 wrote on Dec 2, 2008 6:54 AM:

" That ought to work well, since 99% of my space users are under 16 years old. "

Harry Potter wrote on Dec 2, 2008 8:50 AM:

" That ought to work well, since 99% of my space users are under 16 years old. "

Good point, medic. "

tammer65 wrote on Dec 2, 2008 1:14 PM:

" Not sure where Medic and HP get their statistic that 99% of MySpace users are under the age of 16. . . . I teach at EIU and for the past 3 years have done an assignment with all my students about the pitfalls and dangers associated with MySpace and Facebook. In 3 years' time, have yet to have a student in class who didn't have an account with and regularly use one or the other of those sites, and I've only had 2 students in 3 years who didn't have accounts on BOTH sites. EIU provides an email account for every student enrolled, but many of my students rarely use their email; they prefer MySpace and Facebook. I realize I'm only 1 teacher so those results aren't scientific, but I think it's fair to say that these sites are frequented by at least a portion of the targeted age group.

Now, do I think the ads will be effective? Probably not. . . . "

Harry Potter wrote on Dec 2, 2008 3:52 PM:

" Actually tammer, I thought it was a joke. I was merely being sarcastic. I do that so rarely. LOL! I work with a lot of young people and every one of them have a Myspace. "

pj1983 wrote on Dec 2, 2008 7:06 PM:

" actually medic, according to a 2006 report (i'm digging for a more updated one) :

"Despite public perception, most MySpace users are over 35, according to a release today by ComScore. The stat-tracking company says that as MySpace continues to grow, its user base is skewing older - teens accounted for around 25% of users in August 2005, but now only represent 12% of the audience. Almost 41% of MySpacers are aged 35 to 54 - a big increase since last year."

a good portion of the people in my family have myspace accounts and they're almost all older than me.(25) it's a great way to keep in touch and share photos. "

ed miller wrote on Dec 2, 2008 10:32 PM:

" If the Governor closes a few more tourist destinations in the State, maybe he will be able to afford to text message everyone about drunk driving as well. "

The Dude wrote on Dec 3, 2008 7:19 AM:

" How many of 35-54 year olds are sex offenders and pedophiles? I don't think that many 35-54 log on to MySpace to social network.

Facebook tends to be more of a College and High School thing, because that's how it started out. You had to have a registered school e-mail address, only in maybe the last 2 years did it open up to the public.

MySpace tends to be younger and then older people, skipping that college age group.

The teacher whose students have both, what where there ages when they signed up for MySpace? Facebook? Just because they still have a MySpace, they may not use it. "

pj1983 wrote on Dec 3, 2008 9:58 AM:

" dude: if sex offenders are using myspace, they're not registering under their real ages, most likely. they're probably posing as younger teens. so that doesn't account for it. half of my friend list is age 32-64. those the other thing it's great for is finding old high school friends. "

Texas T wrote on Dec 3, 2008 5:06 PM:

" I have both and I am 44. I got them both around the same time (last year). I prefer myspace. I use it to keep in touch with out of state family and friends and a little social networking. I keep them both private so that no one can see them without my permission. I have found many old friends from high school on both of them. "