How do you convince someone to drive slower/sober without sounding like that annoying friend who desperately attempts to bring some reason in his party partners’ fancy irrationality (think Pierre and Marcus in Gaspard Noe’s “Irreversible” )?
You don’t. Because you automatically become the one person that they don’t want to listen to.
This is why in most road safety PSA (Public Service Advertising), long gone is the delicacy of political correctness. Gone are the days of the complacency of the suspiciously joyful voiceover trying to sell the latest enzyme as if someone’s life was at stakes (even if, to be fair, her job probably is).
Instead, PSA resort to very explicit, bold examples depicted as realistically as possible. You would be right to state that the explanation is very mercantile: in advertising, the problem is always more eye-catching and attention-grabbing than the solution.
But this educational Shock Doctrine is ultimately designed to trigger behavioural change by activating acute emotional feedback: terror, appal, dismay, horror, etc.
In all these commercials, the driver is never the only one to die or be hurt. Because, as a rhetorical argument, the emotional weight of responsibility and its consequences is far greater than any degree of self-destruction: “I don’t care if I die, but what if I’m the only one to survive?”.
As every Shock Doctrine worthy of its appellation, your initial reaction to these TV spots won’t be to contest or find refugee in disbelief, but to absorb these sensorial stimuli, feel disoriented, relate to (one of) them and – best case scenario – connect them to your own driving behaviour.
Indulge in the power of the Shock Doctrine below.
Transport for London – The Day You Went to Work
Sécurité Routière Francaise – Just A Little Too Fast
Axion by Dexia – Heaven Can Wait
Volkswagen – Safe Happens – Like
Volkswagen – Safe Happens – Movie
Volkswagen – Safe Happens – 4 Hours
If you’re interested in this topic you should first read up on the debate about how/whether fear campaigns work… and then look up the TAC ad campaigns from Victoria, Australia, which leave these examples for dead. So to speak…
There’s a new ad from the South Wales police force targeting teenagers who allow themselves to be distracted by headphones while crossing the street. It’s less shocking than the bent head you have here but it speaks to the intended audience.
On a related note, Canadian WSIB ads that promote workplace safety also employ the shock treatment. They depict people getting into some gut wrenching accidents while at work. The injured then discusses preventative measures while bleeding from the face, or cradling broken limbs.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=F86HwCpuu1I&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jvaLRabHQ3c
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qf_LWq88H5I&feature=related
Have a look to this last french campaign : http://gregorypouy.blogs.com/marketing/2008/06/karl-lagerfeld.html