Government relaunches graphic road safety ads
The Department for Transport is to re-screen its £1.3m hard-hitting Think! campaign reminding drivers of the potentially fatal consequences of not wearing a seat belt.
The new ad drive was launched today (1 February) by road safety minister, Paul Clark. It shows that if you have a crash without wearing a seat belt you actually experience three crashes, even at everyday speeds like 30mph.
The ad details the three stages: first, the car crashes and stops. Second – because there’s nothing to stop you moving – your body carries on and hits the inside of the car. Third, you stop but your internal organs keep moving, hitting the inside of your body and can rupture under the force of the impact.
The Think! campaign will include television, radio, cinema, and outdoor advertising. It is based on detailed research into people’s seat belt wearing habits which showed that people are less likely to wear seat beats on low speed, short journeys on familiar roads, even though they are still risking their lives in these cases.
The advert is so realistic and graphic it can only be shown after 9pm. An edited version will be used for earlier showings – describing but not showing the damage to internal organs.
Clark says: “If you are involved in an accident while not wearing a seat belt then your body experiences a series of three collisions damaging vital internal organs. This campaign reminds drivers that – no matter how short their journey or how slowly they are driving – they are risking their life if they set off without putting their seat belt on.
“I hope this campaign will help everyone realise that they need to belt up every time they get in a car.”
Last year, the Department of Transport launched the ad campaign aimed at highlighting the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt.
The “Think!” ad campaign has been created by Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, and media planning and buying handled by Carat.
