Talking about road safety earlier with Lowe China commercial featuring Human Traffic sign (see previous post) – It doesn’t take a horror movie to get audiences to jump from their seats and … understand the danger of driving and texting. Sometimes, a clever ad can do the trick !
With mobile phones becoming the number one killer on roads around the world, Volkswagen have stepped up in China, with a series of stunts at the MCL Cinema in Hong Kong.
These moviegoers apparently didn’t know what was in store when the lights went down and they began to watch a film in which a driver is cruising down a road … a long, straight and slightly boring road…
… Until the crucial moment – when a close range mobile broadcasting device pushes an SMS message to all phones in the cinema at the same time – triggering a huge car accident and crash on screen.
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5GR8TBkMC0
(also featured at the top of the post)
This clip seems like an extremely effective way to get people’s attention about the dangers of texting and driving. The only major problem with it, is the broadcaster limits to the people in one specific place (this cinema room only), and some people can have their mobile turned off, or on silent mode. But overall, despite these restrictions, I think this cinema stunt is a brilliant way to increase the awareness on this issue.
The clip ended with the following message: “Mobile use is now the leading cause of death behind the wheel.”
(The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that drunk driving led to 10,322 deaths in the United States in 2012, compared to 3,360 due to distracted driving. The agency also mentioned that “impairment associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as that associated with drunk driving).
This cinema stunt was made by the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather Beijing for Volkswagen.
Credits: Ogilvy & Mather Beijing
Source: Adforum, Texting and Driving Safety
