An online user comes across what looks like a live webcam of a driver. The headline claims the user can send the driver a text message in real time. As this had never been done before, we needed to create a way to do this. For the same reason, everyone wanted to try it to see if it would work. It did. The message appeared instantly, distracting the driver (and the user) resulting in a crash.

After the crash, our “Distracted Drivers are Dangerous” message appeared, along with the option to watch the sequence again where the user could see how obvious the oncoming car was when not distracted by their text message. Finally, the user received a text message reminding them how dangerous their mobile phone could be behind the wheel. Both the ad and the follow-up text message encouraged the user to share the experience with a friend.

The day the campaign went live we received over 170 messages. Over 20% of people who saw the ad interacted with it. Over the 4-week duration of the campaign over 2,800 people sent 3,724 text messages and the dangers of texting while driving became a national news issue. The textthedriver website has found its way onto motoring discussion lists.

Many companies now forbid staff to use their cellphones while driving company cars, and the New Zealand government have since proposed to ban the use of all cellphones while driving, surpassing all our expectations.