Capital and Commodity; Advertising vs. Culture Jamming

Advertisement - 'Intersections. Bad call can be deadly'      18/05/2010

Advertising is a non-personal form of communication and is usually intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action upon products, ideals, or services. Advertising can also serve to communicate an idea to a mass amount of people in an attempt to convince them to take a certain action, such as encouraging 'environmentally friendly' behaviors, and even unhealthy behaviors through food consumption, video game and television viewing promotion. (Wikipedia)

The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format. This is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. One television advertisement campaign that has stood out to me recently, are the Land Transport New Zealand , 'It's your call', and "Bad calls can be deadly" commercials. This is the commercial where a bearded man in a black suit sits at specific intersections and spins “The Risk It All Here” wheel, offering the options of minor crash, major crash, near miss and death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRDXG5IlP-8&feature=related

This campaign focuses on safety at uncontrolled intersections, using the spinning wheel to demonstrate the thin line between near misses and fatal crashes.

According to statistics on the "New Zealand Transport Agency" website, failure to give way at intersections is the third largest cause of injury and death on New Zealand roads, after speeding and drunk driving. Every year around 2,500 crashes occur at intersections because someone fails to stop or give way. This equates to 50 injury-causing crashes a week. These crashes result in over 3,000 injuries and 25 deaths per year. (http://www.nzta.govt.nz)

“Too many drivers think the chance of a serious crash at an intersection is low, and they’re prepared to take higher risks in certain situations, such as when they’re running late,” said Land Transport NZ Advertising Manager Rachel Prince. “The risks of failing to give way are not small. We want drivers to understand that every ‘bad call’ they make at an intersection increases their risk of injury or death.” (http://www.nzta.govt.nz)

Personally this is one of the best ad campains I have seen recently for road safety. It is incredible how well the point is made that a poor decision at an intersection can easily kill you.

There are a number of different ads in this campaign. One where the driver dies, one where it's a near miss, and the cops go after the driver, which is occasionally played, and one which I have only ever seen once, where the wheel only just passes Death and ends up on Miracle, which is a very fitting tiny sliver slither on the wheel.

When you look at the odd looking, bearded man who sits by the wheel, you notice that he has pasty skin, an unkempt look and is wearing a black suit. He seems to me, to be a bizarre cross between a game show host and the grim reaper. He always has a very vacant look in his eyes, as he stares at the cars that pass. He never smiles and always has a serious look on his face, which can be seen in shots through the rear window of the drivers car, as the eyes of the man in black follow the cars every move.

The setting of the ad, "Bad calls can be deadly", is very creepy. Its quite windy, overcast and dark, and the colors are all quite muted. It reminds me of a haunted circus ground that you would see in a movie. In the ad, "It's your call", this man is seen everywhere, at every intersection that is driven through. Rain or shine, he is seen. I also noticed that he always looks at the wheel, after he spins it, to see where it will land. This shows that the outcome of the decision is unknown to both himself and the driver in the car.

The spinning wheel that he sits next to looks like an old circus or game show wheel. It's looks like any other game wheel, except that the words, death, near miss, major crash, minor crash, and miracle, replace the usual figures like 300, 500, etc. (usually representing cash rewards). This wheel is called the "Risk it all here" wheel. There is a shot in the ad where the camera is focused on the inside of the wheel, where the words, 'Risk it all; Risk it all here' are written. This is accompanied by two hands with thumbs up, which seems to offer good luck. This is quite ironic because a game show is usually for amusement. You participate to win something which is usually harmless and adds to your life. This wheel does not offer such amusement. This ad shows that this wheel is not a game, the risks are real, the difference between life and death. If you watch the ad carefully you notice that only the drivers taking undue risks get a "spin" of the wheel. Interestingly, the sections on the wheel seem to be different widths. There is more chance of major crash and death. 'Death' is very prominent on the wheel, shown in big thick, capital letters, whereas the one chance for 'miracle', is a very small thin slither.

The music that accompanies this ad is music that you would hear at a circus. Music that plays that same basic melody over and over again. Although this music plays throughout the ad, above this you can still hear regular noises like people talking, radio voices, wheels and car noises, and of course, the clicking of the wheel. Instead of hearing the clicking of the wheel and responding with excitement and anticipation, as you would at a game show, the audience in this ad responds with anxiety and tension. What will the outcome be? If you listen close enough at the end there is a faint subliminal message that is whispered, almost as if it is a part of the wind in the background. I'm pretty sure it says something like, "It wasn't worth it, it's not worth it", but I can't make out much after that.

The music is also used very well to create impact because the moment before the 'death' outcome, the music stops and we only hear the sound of wheels screeching, followed by the final click of the wheel as it lands on 'Death'. The use of silence surrounding the fatal crash, ads to the tension that we/the audience feels.

This ad campaign aims to link people’s risk-taking behaviour at intersections with the potential serious consequences of their actions. Many drivers take calculated risks everyday, e.g. nipping into small gaps, and have experienced close calls or near misses when driving through an intersection but feel they always get away with it. While these risks may seem relatively inconsequential to most drivers, other drivers haven’t been so lucky. I feel that the target for this campaign is primarily city drivers aged between 25 – 39 years as the focus is on a young man around this age, and the decisions that he makes. Many drivers take risks at intersections and trust luck, but taking risks at intersection can result in serious injury or even death. Trusting luck is not worth it. The key message that I take out of this is that each ‘bad call’ you make at an intersection increases your risk of serious consequences, such as injury or death. This fits in perfectly with the tagline for the advertising 'Intersections. Bad call can be deadly.' This has certainly impacted and make me think about the choices I make.

These ads appeal to me because as soon as I saw the ad I thought it was a very unique and clever concept. I would never have normally thought so much about the way I approach and look at intersections. I seem to have a love-hate relationship with these ads. On one hand, I think they are brilliant, and on the other hand, I think they are creepy but so true. Perhaps this is the way that they are supposed to be. =)

Bibliography:
http://www.nzta.govt.nz
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.wiza.co.nz/actindex.html
http://www.youtube.com