A new Alberta campaign against distracted driving is raising eyebrows in the province with large billboards that proclaim “Crotches Kill”.
The campaign — launched online, on radio and on billboards and posters — urges drivers to ignore the beep of their cell phones and keep their eyes on the road.
The YouAreTheCure.ca website includes interactive elements that show how easy it is to miss jogging gorillas, kittens with shopping carts, runaway dogs and attractive cyclists when you switch focus from the road to the phone lying in your lap.
Donna Babchishin of Alberta Transportation told the CBC:
Our goal is to get their attention, and to ultimately save lives, and the way to do that was to come up with a campaign that spoke to them and generated conversation.
Crotches Kill - Don't text and drive. ow.ly/hVfm3 @ualberta @the_gateway @nr92 @macewanu @nuggetonline #ualberta
— AB Transportation(@ABTransComm) February 21, 2013
One ad even features a talking urinal puck.
Distracted by your crotch again, huh? Well, it’s fine to do it here, but it can kill behind the wheel. Keep your eyes up. Don’t text and drive. We know what you’re doing down there.
Said to cost the province $380,000, the campaign takes aim at young drivers, particularly males aged 25-34.
Alberta is known for cutting-edge public service announcements. In 2011 the province launched plentyofsyph.com, a mock online dating site that sought to raise awareness about rising rates of syphilis in the region.
