It may not be the kind of funeral one would choose…a rough, unfinished pine box, no paid musicians, no fancy flowers, and a plot on the side of the road.

But anyone who dies as a result of driving drunk on New Year’s Eve in Seminole County, having first signed up with the Seminole Producer, can be assured of having a free funeral — of some kind.

An ad containing an application form was included in page 12 of today’s edition. The deadline to apply for the free funeral is 12 noon on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

“The winner will get the cheapest funeral we can buy. The coffin will be just a pine box and a shallow grave will be dug,” Publisher Mike Gifford said.

The Producer started the promotion in 1986 to remind readers that drinking and driving is dangerous and foolish, with the hope that no one will actually do it.

The darkly humorous campaign has produced international attention. Stories on the campaign have been published in newspapers from Florida to Sweden and both Ted and Stu Phillips, former publishers, have been interviewed on television and radio nationwide.

Gifford said the Producer has never had to pay for a funeral and only a few application forms have ever been received, including one year where someone filled out a form in the name of the police chief.

Started in 1986, the promotion is the original free funeral offer, although many others have copied it over the years.

“It is the most successful alcohol education program ever printed in black and white,” the late Stu Phillips once said. “Only one application over the years was from someone who was actually going to drink and drive. Most are pranks, filled out by friends of sober people. But it makes people think, and that’s what counts.”