Unsuspecting cinemagoers in Hong Kong were stunned by Volkswagen’s simple road safety advert which communicated the dangers of texting while driving by sending out a mass text to the audience while the advert was playing.
The movie theatre’s location-based broadcaster enabled them to send a mass text to everyone in the room at the same time. The point of view advert, which had been showing a leisurely drive through a wooded area suddenly changed as the audience went to check their phone. The car on screen suddenly crashed into a tree, much like it could have done if the audience were in the car themselves when they decided to check their phone.
The above video shows the alarmed response of the cinemagoers, as the advert reveals the message: ‘Mobile use is now the leading cause of death behind the wheel. A reminder to keep your eyes on the road.’
With 31% of drivers admitting to texting while driving, we hope that this realistic style of communicating road safety is effective in making people think twice before picking up their phone while behind the wheel.