Ah the work Christmas party. The source of grist for the gossip mill for the cold, dark winter months. I’ve heard some good stories already and I’m looking forward to hearing more now that everyone’s hangovers have subsided.

Riding the Tube the other day on the way to my own work Christmas party I spied many ads encouraging moderation – or at least moderation insofar as possible. I wondered how many people heeded this. To judge from what I’ve seen in the streets of London lately, not everyone that should.

I imagine that many people are like me and my work colleagues: we know it’s a bad idea to drink yourself silly. So, instead of getting people to buy into the message, these campaigns face the challenge of reminding people of the message at the right time. And that’s a tough job because they have to actually overcoming the inevitable hurdle at this time of the year – there’s an excuse to do over-indulge. And frankly, at Christmas, any excuse will do.

So, it becomes all about the sticky visuals. The ones that come to mind when you’re standing at the bar deciding whether to be sensible and make your third a glass of water or to cave into your mate, who’s encouraging you to do tequila shots.

I saw a great example of this several months ago, not specifically for the Christmas season. But it still sticks in my head today and certainly made me more moderate on the night than I might have otherwise been. http://www.byturen.com/ From the Nordic region, this makes not only really amazing use of the medium, but it tells the story in such a compelling way that you can’t help but remember it later.

For this particular type of campaign, I also strongly believe that it’s about marrying up the right time and the right place. On the way there on the Tube – not bad. While I’m actually at the bar, even better. Potent messaging, potent media. And perhaps I avoid quite so many of the potent drinks.

Or at least that’s the idea.

Tara is a Research Director at Ipsos ASI.