South Australia Police launches graphic seatbelt campaign via The Sideways Theory
South Australia Police is targeting drivers who neglect to wear seatbelts in a new campaign launched by Adelaide creative and strategic agency The Sideways Theory. The cross-platform campaign will serve as a confronting reminder to non-complying drivers across both regional and metropolitan areas of South Australia.
While the visuals are dramatised, each scenario captures real life outcomes that are featured in the campaign to depict much needed authenticity. SA Police has taken this approach to help shock drivers into wearing a seatbelt.
The Sideways Theory applied high-level research via local agencies Kantar and New Focus an in-depth media strategy developed by Wavemaker, and SA Police frontline experience to create a true-to-life campaign that is now running widely throughout South Australia across all media channels.
Just launched, the campaign will be seen on all free to air channels, connected TV, out of home, digital, radio, out-of-home locations, and other online channels.
Says Jason Hollamby, Director at The Sideways Theory: “This campaign is designed to provoke a highly targeted group of drivers who are still resistant to wearing seatbelts. They either don’t understand the potential consequences, forget or simply don’t care. These are confronting images, but they are very real.”
Says Richard Blackwell, Manager, Media Road Safety at SA Police: “These particular drivers are often not wearing seatbelts out of recalcitrance, but it seems like a silly cause to give your life to. The facts are very clear, if you wear a seatbelt you are less likely to die or be seriously injured in the event of a crash.”
Adds Hollamby: “We spent considerable time with SAPOL’s Major Crash Unit to fully understand the circumstances that would result in catastrophic outcomes due to not wearing a seatbelt. This campaign is designed to grab attention. Whether you’re a driver or a passenger, we’ve accurately captured the potential for disaster.”
Watch the Metropolitan TV Spot
Watch the Regional TV Spot
Client: South Australia Police
Client Manager: Richard Blackwell
Agency: The Sideways Theory
Creative Director: Jason Hollamby
Director: Jason Hollamby
Studio: Sideways Studios
First AD: Bradly Lanyon
Account Director: Julie Kushnir
Copywriter: Jason Hollamby
Art Director: Francesca Germanis
Art Director: Andrew Slattery
Designer: Celine Callander
Production Co: Sideways Studios
Casting: Sideways Studios
Production Manager: Bonet Leate
Production Manager: Rachael Gates
Hair & Makeup: Adele Shearwin
DOP: Maxx Corkindale
1st A/C: Manuel Ashman
2nd A/C: Ben Fernandez
3rd A/C: Jake Cooper
4th AC: Rebecca Duncker
Grip: Justin Van Zyl
Grip: Django Nou
Gaffer: Daniel Ross
Runner: Eloise Holoubek
Drone #1 Operator: Andrew Johnston
Drone #2 Operator: Dai Cookes
Sound Recordist: Victor Ivchenko
Photographer: Steve McCawley
Asst Photographer: Josh McCawley
Retoucher: Paul Munzberg
Editor/Effects: Stephen Deeble, Visualizm
Assistant Editor: Maddie Tierney
Sound Engineer: Scott Illingworth, Seeing Sounds
Voice Talent: Tom Bourne
Lighting: Zac Steele
Action Vehicles: Gary Baxter
Stunt Coordinator: Nigel Harbach
Safety Officer: Clay Dunn
Nurse: Catherine Wake
Traffic Control: Seychell Traffic
Research: Kantar
Research: New Focus
Media Agency: Wavemaker
Out of Home: MediaNest
15 Comments
confronting
Good old fashioned Australian road safety advertising. Love it.
Genuine q: Does this shock factor still work today?
It may have worked 20 years ago, but these days it just disengages the audience by being too hard to watch.
Compare this with NZ campaigns which are far more clever and nuanced (read: engaging) – are these gruesome style of behaviour change campaigns still effective?
New Zealand’s road toll is at an all time high with the new government questioning the worth of the millions of dollars that have produced an increase in accidents and deaths. You may like the nuanced ads more. But they don’t work any better, no matter how much we all love Ghost Chips.
I would love to understand if these types ads really still have an impact and affect. They may help educate to a point yet there is not much change. With road tolls up and the same types of ads continually churned out, I wonder if there needs to be a different approach.
Often these ads have a ‘5 minute affect’ and the behaviours still continue. No matter how big and over the top production, I really have to question is it time to try something different?
Same old, same old ads and shock tactics for road campaigns. I wonder if people even really take note anymore! There really needs to be a different approach to educating drivers.
And I can’t fucking believe that people still aren’t wearing their seatbelts. It’s just plain fucking stupid. Maybe they’re just doing their bit for the gene pool? Incidentally, the coffin being lowered on seatbelts is a seriously mixed metaphor that makes no fucking sense, but the rest of it is pretty well produced, if entirely idealess.
I think this is over produced and just another road ad! I think many people are just becoming desensitised due to the same productions.
The money may be better spent on getting out into communities and doing more hands on education, particularly with the younger generations.
Have seat belts just been invented? What’s the data on he need for this campaign?
All I could think about was the kerning & tracking…somehow not quite right.
Somehow these over done crash scenes are just not cutting it. We still see the carnage on the roads. Time for something new with a fresh take and ideas on how to tackle this. This is old school, monotonous advertising done to death! (No pun intended)
SA Road ads are the definition of insanity. Repeat the same thing and expect a different outcome! Complete insanity!!!!!
It does hurt to wear a seatbelt. Also, way to kick a guy when he’s down by lowering his coffin into the very snug fitting hole with seatbelts… from a crane by the look of it.
these ads work over time. Wearing a seatbelt isn’t hard to do and with low motivation from a small group of drivers it “can’t hurt” to show the reality now and then. These poeple will probably be more offended about being told what to do than the ads
Just going to say it- No direction, no creativity and really nothing to grab my attention! The same dramatic crash scenes, surely there is another strategy to be used.