No Really. We Want You to Text And Drive

Here’s that Belgian commercial from an organization called Responsible Young Drivers that urges young people to not text and drive by forcing them to text and drive. Seemingly under the guise of an new official policy, drivers are given a road test to see if they are able to text and drive. Of course, they are not and deliver the “don’t text and drive” message all on their own.

Here’s my question though. The work works on its own. But watch carefully at 1:36. Prior to 1:36, the instructor is wearing his seatbelt. After 1:36, he is wearing his seatbelt. But at 2:14 he is not and goes flying into the dashboard. Why the need for the added (fake) drama?

That said, we think the ad is more effective that all those scare tactic, crash-centric ads that don’t resonate because it’s too easy to realize they are over the top drmatizations that would “never happen to me.”