Government launches graphic road safety ads

The Department of Transport is launching a £2.6m ad campaign aimed at highlighting the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt. The TV ads will launch tonight (November 3) and feature graphic images of people’s internal organs damaged in a road accident.

The “Think!” ad campaign has been created by Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, and media planning and buying handled by Carat. It will also include radio, cinema, ambient and online advertising.

The campaign is based on research into people’s seat-belt-wearing habits. According to the DfT, one life could be saved each day if all drivers and passengers belted up every time they got in a car.

The campaign was launched this morning (November 3) by road safety minister Jim Fitzpatrick, and will debut tonight on ITV at 7pm.

TV ads broadcast on ITV after the 9pm watershed will show graphic images of the fatal damage caused to internal organs in an effort to highlight the three types of crashes a person can experience if they are not wearing a seat belt.

Two ads have been filmed for pre and post-watershed screenings and will run until December 7. A similar cinema ad will be broadcast from November 21. It will be shown before all films rated 12A and above.

Fitzpatrick says: “Every day someone dies simply because they are not wearing a seat belt. That’s a tragic waste that could be avoided if everyone took the simple step of belting up whenever they got in a car. I hope this hard-hitting new campaign will help everyone realise that they are risking their life whenever they get in a car and don’t put their seat belt on.”