john st.‘ & @CieslokMedia’s ‘Text & Drive’ Message
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Cieslok Media, Toronto, has partnered with Montreal ad agency john st. to promote the dangers of texting and driving through an unexpected digital outdoor ad.
Under its ‘Cieslok Cares’ moniker, the outdoor media company jumped on board with john st. to showcase a fake funeral home advertisement promoting ‘text and drive”’.
Located on the Gardiner Expressway, one of Toronto’s busiest throughway, the advertisement will surely not be missed by commuters – and, one hopes, would make them think twice about the real consequences of texting and driving. The message from the fake funeral home, meant to get a reaction, blatantly encourages drivers to text and drive with the assumption of increased business for the funeral home.
“As a leader in large format advertising, we’re all about standing out, being memorable, and captivating audiences,” says Jörg Cieslok, president and CEO of Cieslok Media. “This advertisement does just that for a very important issue: texting and driving. With an out-of-home inventory situated in high traffic, high impact locations, it made sense to leverage our digital sign on the Gardiner to amplify this message for the general public good.”
Beyond creating shock, the advertisement invites viewers to a website for Wathan Funeral Home. When visiting the website, at first glance it looks like a typical funeral home website, but as you read the content it becomes clear the messaging is about the impact and consequences of texting and driving. Included in the copy are alarming stats, such as “We’re just trying to get Canadians to stop texting and driving, which is projected to kill more people in Ontario this year than drinking and driving.”
“People see and hear the words ‘Don’t text and drive’ almost every day but the number of people doing it keeps going up and up,” says Mylene Savoie, managing director of john st., Montreal. “So we wanted to think of a different way of saying it that would make people think about the real consequences. Which is where ‘Text and drive’ came from.”
Texting and driving is a real concern when ‘over half of Ontario drivers admit to reading texts while behind the wheel’.
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