NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Officials say more than $450,000 was spent on a controversial state anti-DUI campaign that many called sexist.
The Tennessean reports Kendell Poole, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, said Wednesday that by the time the state ended the campaign in July, $456,923 had been spent. Poole says the projected budget for the campaign was over $725,000.
Last month, the office took down its website following criticism that the campaign had taken a sexist approach to encouraging young men not to drive under the influence.
It included distributing drink coasters to bars and restaurants around the state that said, “Buy a drink for a marginally good looking girl only to find out she’s chatty, clingy, and your boss’s daughter. If this sounds like something you would do, your judgment is impaired and so is your driving.”
Poole says the office never meant to offend anyone and that the campaign was intentionally designed to reach the “young male demographic.”
Poole says the campaign was completely federally funded and was part of a $2 million annual advertising budget.
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