It takes a serious amount of effort to come up with an original idea in today’s marketing world. With so many companies and advertisers vying for attention only the smartest, funniest, or most engaging usually shine.

While looking for another wonderful ad to place amongst the growing list of digital best, I found this interesting and ambitious campaign concept. The concept called “Smirnoff Guardians” (Smirnoff, a popular Vodka) was created by two students out of the Miami Ad School. The idea centers on the prevention of drunk driving and the use of social networking to achieve that goal.

Hoping to build on the popular notion that “friends don’t let friends drive drunk,” the duo created a system of check-ins and rewards that could possibly help eliminate the occurrences of drunken driving. Once a friend checks-in to a bar or club on Facebook a “Safe Ride” button would appear on that wall post. From there a friend could click on that button and purchase a cab for said friend. The friend in the club or bar would then receive a text message with a code that can be used to redeem the cab ride.

In order to reward these “guardians” they are given points for each time they use provide a “Safe Ride.” They can then go on to use these points, which are categorized by amount in bronze, silver, or gold, at participating locations for free entrance, drinks, and the like.  It’s a great idea that uses social media, mobile connectivity, and location based services in the best of ways. Check out the video below: