A new road safety campaign in France raises the question lots of us may never have even asked ourselves, let alone know the answer to.
There’s a haunting beauty in the black and white shots of weeping mourners gathered at a fresh grave, with smoke curling about them like empathetic mist. It could almost be a spoof of a thriller, a good yarn unfolding…
The narrator sounds young and alive as he explains that his father, his friend and others in the group are crying because of his mistake – the mistake of thinking that smoking a joint and driving wasn’t dangerous.
Recent studies show that while cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are declining in the USA and Europe, cannabis use is on the rise. And though we’re all used to sobering drink/drive ads, tobacco commercials have been banned, and there are now campaigns to illustrate the dangers of using a mobile ‘phone while driving, the implications of smoking a spliff before getting behind the wheel haven’t really been highlighted.
As with alcohol, the drug is metabolised at different rates in different people but specialised organisations in the UK agree that a person who’s used cannabis will be over the legal limit for the following 10 hours.
France has among the most restrictive laws on cannabis, and this ad weighs in with a sombre voiceover at the end reminding us that it’s illegal.
But those wisps of smoke threading their way among the trees from the funeral scene to the car crash, and a young man’s voice telling us from beyond the grave that he made a mistake are more likely to stay in our minds and stir the right kind of fear, don’t you think?
To have your say on this and other ads, please visit the ADDS site
You might also like
More from Creative Campaigns
Instagram Introduces A New Professional Dashboard To Help You Make Better Decisions
The Instagram Professional Dashboard is a single destination to help track your performance and access professional tools.
Take Bernie With You Anywhere On Google Street View
Can't get bored of the latest Bernie meme trend, this new Bernie meme-generator lets you take Bernie around the world.
New Cruzcampo Campaign Brings Lola Flores Back To Life
Spanish beer company Cruzcampo's latest campaign uses AI to bring legendary singer Lola Flores back to life.
Clubhouse Looks To Support Creators With New Payment Features
The audio social network, Clubhouse, is paving the way for creators to start getting paid through tipping, tickets, or subscriptions.
You Can Now Control Who Sees And Comments On Your LinkedIn Posts
LinkedIn is introducing controls for individual posts which let users restrict who can see and comment on them.
This Week: The 10 Most Talked About TV Ads On Social Media
The top 10 most talked-about TV ads on social media: Grubhub beats Wandavision and Pepsi is gearing up for the Super …
YouTube Adds HDR Support To Xbox Consoles
YouTube has finally added HDR video support to Microsoft's Xbox gaming consoles. We're still waiting for support on PS5.
Snapchat Confirms It Is Testing Dark Mode
According to multiple reports, Snapchat is testing dark mode on iOS with a small percentage of users.
YouTube Introduces Dedicated Pages For Hashtags
Youtube is rolling out dedicated landing pages for hashtags to all users worldwide, giving us a new way to sort …