Summer is approaching in the northern hemisphere. Will there be deaths of children be left in hot cars?Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke (child hot car deaths) is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related fatality for kids 14 and younger. This National Heatstroke Prevention Day, the Ad Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), along with pro bono creative agency, Chemistry, debuted a campaign of PSAs reminding parents and caregivers of the dangers of hot vehicles.
The Never Happens campaign uses simple beautiful vignettes of life’s imperfect moments to show the many things parents promise never to do. However, “never” can happen, such as forgetting a child in a hot car or having a child stuck in a car. Since cars heat up quickly, the PSAs raise awareness about the dangers of children being alone in vehicles and encourage all parents and caregivers to always Stop. Look. Lock. before walking away from their vehicle.
“The partnership between the Ad Council and NHTSA has promoted safety on America’s roads for decades, and we are honoured to continue bringing awareness to another critical issue together,” stated Michelle Hillman, chief campaign development officer, the Ad Council. “Child hot car deaths are deeply tragic—and they are 100% preventable. With this new work, we hope to increase parent and caregiver knowledge around the dangers of heatstroke to help them keep our most precious passengers safe.”
“Hot car deaths are heartbreaking, but they are also preventable,” added NHTSA deputy administrator Sophie Shulman. “We are asking all Americans to understand the risks posed by hot cars and do their part to keep children safe. When you park Stop. Look. Lock.”
“As parents, we say we’ll never do a ton of things, but ‘never’ happens all the time. To get parents to believe that child hot car deaths can happen to them, we reminded them of all the other ‘nevers’ that have already become a reality for them,” stated Will Benham, executive creative director, Chemistry. “We only get a handful of opportunities in our career to do something this meaningful and creatively fulfilling. To make work you’re really proud of with partners you trust, and have ‘lives saved’ as the measure of success, is pretty unbeatable.”
Never Happens covers a wide array of assets, including TV, radio, print, outdoor, and digital assets, available in both English and Spanish. Child hot car deaths have occurred in nearly every state so the ads will be placed nationally in donated media, with a focus on the “sunbelt” states where the majority of pediatric vehicular heatstroke deaths occur.
According to NHTSA, heat can have devastating effects on children, as their bodies warm three to five times faster than adult bodies. If children’s body temperatures reach 107 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, it can be fatal. Hot car deaths can happen in vehicles parked in shaded areas in temperatures as low as 60 degrees, even with the windows cracked. Heatstroke occurs in three main scenarios:
- 52.7% of hot car deaths happened because a child is forgotten in a hot car
- 25.8% of deaths happened because a child gained access to an unlocked car and became trapped
- 20.1% of deaths happened because a child was left behind in a vehicle, the parent/caregiver not realising how quickly internal car temperatures can rise.
Credits:
Agency: Chemistry
Executive Creative Directors: Mike Groenewald & Will Benham
Associate Creative Directors: Lizzy Powers & Dan Lemaux
VP Head of Production, Test Tube Productions: Renee Royal
Matt Joyner – Executive Producer, Freelance
Group Strategy Director: Alexa McGriff
Senior Brand Strategist: Coni Salinas
EVP, Partnerships & Experiments: Courtney Saul
Account Director: Kayleigh Ladshaw
Senior Account Manager: Libby Riordan
Group Director, Project Management: Lauren Interrante
Project Manager: Gracie Bell
Creative Services Director: Jeffrey Moore
Multimedia & Studio Director: Larry Odom
Chief Growth Officer: Taylor Guglielmo
President: Tim Smith
Chief Creative Officer: Chris Breen
Clients:
Elizabeth Nilsson: Marketing Strategist, NHTSA
Julie Vallese: Associate Administrator for Communications and Consumer Information, NHTSA
Laura Dunn: Highway Safety Specialist, NHTSA
Michelle Hillman: Chief Campaign Development Officer, Ad Council
Patty Goldman: VP, Strategy & Evaluation, Ad Council
Dzu Bui: SVP, Group Campaign Director, Ad Council
Cece Wedel: VP, Group Campaign Director, Ad Council
Emily Gonzalez: Campaign Manager, Ad Council
Brittney Crosby: Assistant Campaign Manager, Ad Council
Production Company: Park Pictures
Lisa Rubisch: Director
Justin Pollock: Managing Director & Executive Producer
Joey Fitzsimmons: Line Producer
Karina Silva: Director of Photography
Julia Zsolnay: 1st AD
Anne Bobroff: Sr Head of Production / Business Affairs
Chelsea Schwiering: Head of Production
Jackie Kelman Bisbee: Executive Producer
Editing: Work Editorial
Aika Miyake: Editor
Chris Wronka: Assistant Editor
Malia Rose: Producer, Freelance
Alejandra Alarcon: Executive Producer
Chris Delarenal: Head of Production
Music: Butter Music + Sound
Andrew Sherman: CCO
Dan Zank, ECD & Arranger
Renee Masse, Executive Producer
Ryan Alons: Music Supervisor
Anneliese Daley: Music Coordinator
Audio Post: Mr. Bronx
Geoff Strasser, Senior Mixer + Sound Designer
Maggie Norsworthy, Producer
Colour: Company 3
Tim Masick: Colourist
Ryan Moncrief: Producer
Post-Production: JANE
Rich Rama: Executive Producer
Ben Sposato: Head of Production
Evan Parsons: Photography
David Parker, Jameson DeSantis & Westley Sarokin: Lead Flame Artists
