New Mexico Orders 500 Talking Urinal Cakes

The state of New Mexico wants to take its fight against drunken driving to men's restrooms and has ordered 500 talking urinal cakes that will deliver a recorded anti-DWI message to bar and restaurant patrons.

"Hey there, big guy. Having a few drinks?" a female voice says a few seconds after the approaching person sets off a motion sensor in the device. "It's time to call a cab or ask a sober friend for a ride home."

The inventor of the device says: "The idea is based on the concept that there is no more captive audience than a guy standing at a urinal," Deutsch said. "You can't look right and you can't look left; you've got to look at the ad".

A Transportation Department spokesman says the urinal cakes are a way to reach a large number of men, who commit about three times as many drunken-driving infractions as women.

Public awareness campaigns in New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Australia have used the devices, including advertisers.

The cakes have enough battery power to last about three months.

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