Parisian Road Safety Authority: The Virtual Crash Billboard

In France, and particularly in Paris and its suburbs, pedestrians are disobedient towards road safety rules. In the past year, 4500 persons were injured or killed due to imprudent behavior. To change behaviors, nothing has more impact than the experience of danger. So brand thought: Why does an accident always have to happen first to make people realize the danger? The creative idea of this campaign was born: The Virtual Crash Billboard, make people experience the fear of getting hit by a car and transform this individuals’ experience into a raised awareness mass campaign targeting the largest number of people. Impact – without an impact.

An interactive billboard was conceived to make careless pedestrians realize the danger of their behavior. Equipped with a motion detector, speaker, and camera, the smart billboard makes the sound of screeching tires whenever a pedestrian attempts to cross while the red man is lit. The frightened faces of these pedestrians are projected directly onto the billboard and shown alongside the caption: ‘Don’t risk looking death in the face. Check the lights and cross safely.’

Credits
Advertiser: DRIEA / Parisian Road Safety Authority
Campaign: Virtual Crash Billboard
Advertising Agency: Serviceplan, Paris, France
Chief Creative Director: Hervé Poupon
Creative Director: Daniel Perez
Art Director: François Lesaint
Copywriter: Benjamin Coche
TV Producer: Renaud Chabert
Production Company: Trinity films