A great ad is often striking.
But I haven't seen one that strikes you like this before...
(Watch until at least the 0:30 mark to see what I mean...)
This visceral out-of-home activation was brought to you by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).
It seems they really wanted Quebecers to stop jaywalking, and asked creative agency LG to come up with something that would *ahem* drive the point home. Mission accomplished.
A good ad grabs your attention. A great ad influences your behaviour.
Usually, it's your purchase behaviour that companies try to influence: they want you to see their ads and buy their products and services.
But SAAQ isn't a company, it's a government organization. They don't want you to buy anything, they just want you to be safe. And fear can be a powerful motivator.
What's especially interesting to this marketer is that LG used fear properly for this campaign. Specifically, according to this academic paper, "While fear arousal appears important for attracting attention, its contribution to behaviour change appears less critical than other factors, such as perceptions of vulnerability and effective coping strategies."
This ad certainly goes all-in on the "perceptions of vulnerability" (CRASH! "Bone vs Steel, You Don't Stand A Chance") and effective coping strategies ("Cross at Intersections"), doesn't it?
I doubt that anybody in Quebec participated in this activation then instantly stopped jaywalking, forever. But I'm willing to bet you a large poutine there were at least a few individuals who decided not to jaywalk that day... and that's a great start.
Also, I don't know how I missed the aptly named "Bone vs. Steel" campaign when it was first released, but I'm glad the folks at the ATOMIC awards didn't: it was awarded Gold for Best Print/Out-of-home in 2020.
