Graphic Anti-Texting Film Had Pro-Seatbelt Predecessor

04.09.2009
Before a graphic anti-texting video exploded onto the Internet, there was an equally graphic film intended to sell seatbelt use U.K. to teens. "" is very similar, only better.

The controversial has since being posted last month. The earlier film deserves the same success.

Produced in 2005-6, "" was the fifth U.K. cross border road safety campaign, jointly commissioned by the Department of the Environment (DOE) and the National Safety Council (NSC), in Dublin. Overall production costs of £350,594 were split between the Department, NSC, and the campaign sponsor, AXA Insurance.

"The seat belt campaign is based on the fact that too many people believe that wearing a seat belt is a matter of personal choice," according to the .

The spot, actually titled 'Damage,' challenges this perception "by shocking audiences out of their complacency. The advert breaks new ground by taking an everyday story of normal life and using it to explore the slow motion horror of what happens inside a car when one person chooses not to wear a seat belt."

"The positive change in attitudes and reported behaviour demonstrate the impact of the campaign, but the increase in seat belt wearing rates shows, beyond a doubt, that this campaign is a success."