In an instant

The Government of Ontario and John St. take on distracted driving.
By
June 21, 2016

We’ve all said it: I’m not on my phone, I’m just checking who messaged me. Or, I’m not browsing, just glancing down.

But an accident can happen in those two seconds, and that’s the behaviour the Government of Ontario and John St. are trying to change.

With a new TV, pre-roll and cinema push targeting 17- to 21-year-olds, the latest campaign packs a wallop: a teen driving a car glances down for a second before he’s hit. The crash cuts immediately to him, paralyzed and in a wheelchair.

“We found many kids consider themselves immortal,” says Angus Tucker, partner and co-CD at John St. “But when pushed, the idea of being bound to a wheelchair was almost more horrific than dying.”

The campaign doesn’t focus on the blood, guts or effect on the family that distracted driving can cause, he says. And that was very purposeful. Instead, it focuses on the idea that these accidents happen not in minutes, but in seconds.

[iframe_youtube video=”UXGfH5XMBSM”]

Credits:
Agency: John st.
ECD: Angus Tucker and Stephen Jurisic
Art director: Andrew Bernardi
Copywriter: Sanya Grujicic
Agency producer: Sharon Langlotz
Account team lead: Cheryl McKenzie
Account supervisor: Zalona Caruso
Strategic planning: Colin Carroll
Director: Nicolas Monette, OPC
Post production: Saints and The Vanity
Audio: Boombox
Media Buying: PHD Media