NASHVILLE (AP) — After nixing an anti-DUI ad campaign that garnered criticism, the Tennessee Department of Transportation is paying millions on another attempt to educate the public about highway safety.
The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/1ITPkwh) the state last week hired Tuerff-Davis Environmedia Inc., which won the $11.5 million contract to oversee the Governor's Highway Safety Office media campaign.
Earlier this year the state apologized for its former anti-DUI campaign before canceling it after it went viral. In mid-July, the state took down an anti-DUI website after coming under criticism for the slogans it used. Some referred to girls looking "hotter" to men under the influence and being "chatty" or "clingy."
Rep. John Ray Clemmons called the campaign "offensive, inexcusable and a waste of taxpayer dollars."
Proposed work for the new contract began Dec. 9 and runs through December 2020.