Eyes on the Road
Volkswagen2014
Eyes on the Road is a 2014 live stunt for Volkswagen, created by OgilvyOne, Beijing.
The line
A reminder to keep your eyes on the road.
Why it works
A text message that crashed the car. Moviegoers at Hong Kong's MCL cinema watched what looked like a pre-show ad: a point-of-view film of someone driving down a quiet road. Partway through, a location-based broadcaster sent a text to every phone in the room. As people looked down to read it, the car on screen swerved off the road and crashed, followed by the on-screen claim that mobile use is now the leading cause of death behind the wheel. It is studied because it makes the audience commit the mistake themselves, with their own phones as the medium, instead of lecturing them about it. By the time CTV News covered it in June 2014 the film had passed 11 million YouTube views; Mashable noted it could not confirm whether the audience knew in advance. It won the Grand Prix at Spikes Asia, four golds at the 2014 Effie China awards and the experiential prize in the One Show's Automobile Advertising of the Year awards.
Techniques
- Participation Sends a text to every phone in the cinema, so the audience commits the mistake themselves with their own devices.
- Fear appeal As viewers look down, the on-screen car crashes, followed by the claim that phone use is the leading cause of death at the wheel.
- Shock and provocation Jolts a relaxed cinema audience with a sudden crash during what looks like an ordinary pre-show ad.
Sources · 4
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