The campaign, funded by VicHealth includes short films and a social media posts to target dissaffected, and often traumatised, young men.
Young men who sign up online to Be a Brother will receive text messages on Fridays and Saturdays reminding them to monitor their alcohol consumption and look out for their friends.
Liss Gabb from Cohealth Arts Generator co-ordinated the project and said it was culturally well informed.
"It speaks directly peer to peer," she told SBS News.
"The messaging the imaging it all speaks from the young people to the young people."
Cohealth chief executive Lyn Morgain said the project focused on positive health messages.
"This project addresses the fact that these people do not see themselves represented in mainstream media, health messaging or health promotion," she said.
“Their experience of representation is largely negative and limited to the reporting of crime and violence.
“Be a Brother is designed together and informed by the community it is targeting. Be a Brother will address the inequity in this community through an innovative and culturally informed approach.”
The films' director Ez Eldin Deng, who comes from South Sudan, told SBS it was up to the African community to fix the drinking problem, "because no one from outside will try and fix the problem".
He many of the young men turning to drink were struggling traumatic memories from their past in their homelands and in refugee camps.
"The trauma, the difficulties through hard life they faced back in Africa, especially in Southern Sudan, and also just in some of the refugee camp," he said.
"You go and have a drink when you don't have employment; when you don't have education; when there is no-one there's nobody to kind of support you."
Mr Daw said a lack of education also left young African men unaware of the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption.
VicHealth's alcohol and tobacco manager Emma Saleeba told SBS News the new campaign had to potential to deliver an important health message to a community the organisation had been struggling to connect with.
"It is very difficult reaching some sub-populations within our community, particularly those that might have their own cultural aspects, their own drinking cultures that are harmful," she said.
The campaign was launched on Tuesday and can be seen on Be a Brother's and pages.
- with staff writers
