Information about the CSR project delivered by Addictions France (addictions-france.org)
- What is the name of the project?
Responsible Party, launched by Pernod Ricard in partenership with the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). Its most recent campaign iteration (since 2021) is called “Drink More Water”.
- Which organization(s) is(are) funding the project?
Pernod Ricard is the main funder and driver of the program.
- Is it known how long the project has been running?
Since 2009 : the partnership with ESN has been renewed every year since, making it over 15 year running as of 2026.
- Are other organizations or companies involved in the project? If so, which ones?
- Erasmus Student Network (ESN) : co-founding partner, the largest student network in Europe (1000+ instutitions, 500+ student associations, 40 countries).
- HOTREC (European hospitality association) : one-off partner on a joint declaration in 2021
- Buzzman : digital agency behing the “Drink More Water” campaign
- Independant researchers form UCLouvain (Université catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve), involved in the scentific evaluation
- What is the formal goal of the project or how is it described?
Officially : to combat binge drinking among young adults, particularly at student parties, through a peer-to-peer approach, and to promote “responsible”, convivial alcohol consumption. Stated ambition : reach 1 million students by 2030.
- What is the target group for the project?
Young adults/students, especially Erasmus exchange students, across the countries where the program operates (32-38 countries depending on the year).
- What activities are carried out as part of the project?
- Organizing “Responsible Parties” where student ambassadors hand out free water and prevention materials
- Peer-to-peer advice on responsible drinking
- Digital campaigns
- Is there a online link to the project and its content?
- Has any feedback c.q. critical comments been provided on the project? If so, by whom and what feedback?
Yes. Addictions France published a critical decryption (No.51) in August 2022 titled “Drink More Water : La prévention selon Pernod Ricard”, analyzing the campaign (https://addictions-france.org/datafolder/uploads/2022/08/Decryptages-N-51-Drink-More-Water-2022.pdf). It raises several points :
- Lack of financial transparency : Pernod Ricard never publishes the ratio between its overall advertising budget and its “prevention” budget, making it impossible to verify the actual proportionality of the prevention effort compared to marketing spend.
- Ambiguity of the campaign’s creative mechanism : the build-up (“Drink More” before the “…Water” reveal) could have the perverse effect of momentarily encouraging more alcohol consumption, seen as contradictory to a genuine prevention goal.
- Lack of independant scientific backing : no addictions specialist or public health expert validated the operation; the evaluation was entrusted to the Fondation pour la Recherche en Alcoologie (FRA, formerly IREB), a body entirely funded by alcohol producers (including Pernod Ricard), which in fact ceased operating in 2019.
- No brand signature : the campaign doesn’t carry the “Pernod Ricard” name, which is interpreted as a strategy to appear more disinterested than it actually is, while still being widely promoted through the group’s own communication channels.
- Structural contradiction : the company’s core commercial mission remains selling alcohol, which limits the real reach of its own prevention campaigns.
- Has the project been evaluated? If so, is the evaluation available?
Yes, several independant evaluations have been commissioned by Pernod Ricard itself :
- A study by a researcher at UCLouvain, published in 2018 : 397 000 students reached, 88.8% found the program useful, 61% reported changing their drinking habits (including drinking more water)
- A further wave in 2021 : 74.5% found the water/responsible-drinking messages useful
However, these evaluations are commissioned and funded by Pernod Ricard, which raises a real question about independance.