I’ve done it. You’ve done it. I’ve been fined for doing it. People have died doing it. Walking across the street against the lights is a gamble with death. Now it is joined by its dangerous cousin, walking down the street absorbed in your phone.
Each year 4,500 pedestrians are victims of road traffic crashes in the Paris area.
So the Parisian Road Safety Authority (la Securité Routière d’Ile de France) and Serviceplan France have come with a spectacularly terrifying way to shock people into realising the importance of paying attention, especially when crossing the road.
The Virtual Crash Billboard, installed in a busy Paris street on March 22, made the screeching sound of a car braking in an emergency whenever someone walked across the road while the red don’t walk man was lit. It also took a photograph of the shocked pedestrian automatically and displayed it on a large screen next to the crossing with the road safety message, Don’t take the risk of facing death. Respect the signs when crossing the road.
The digital video and posters created under real-life conditions will be used as part of the upcoming Quinzaine Régionale des Usagers Vulnérables (May 15-28 2017), the 7th annual road safety fortnight in France. They will be displayed on train station billboards and in a Facebook campaign.
Credits:
Client: The Parisian Road Safety Authority (DRIEA)
Advertising Agency: Serviceplan France
Global Chief Creative Officer: Alexander Schill
Chief Creative Director: Hervé Poupon
Creative Director: Daniel Perez
Art Director: FrançOis Lesaint
Copywriter: Benjamin Coche
TV Producer: Renaud Chabert
