As Americans gather at bars and in living rooms to watch the hugely popular college basketball tournament– often with a drink in hand– the Ad Council is launching a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) for their ongoing “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” campaign. Impaired driving remains a persistent problem in the U.S., with over 10,000 people killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2016, according to the Department of Transportation. That’s approximately one person every fifty minutes.
The new PSAs, which were produced pro bono by media agency OMD, encourage young men to examine their own behavior by amplifying social warning signs many already know and associate with impairment. Whether texting too many emojis or taking one too many selfies, these subtle “warning signs” are recognizable to the target audience and serve as cues not to drive home.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8288151-ad-council-buzzed-driving-warning-signs/
Today the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Ad Council and Project Yellow Light announced the winners of the fifth annual Project Yellow Light scholarship competition. The contest calls on students to develop and produce a short video educating their peers on the dangers of using mobile devices behind the wheel of a vehicle. For the first time, Clear Channel Outdoor Americas has joined longstanding partners Mazda Motorsports, the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) and U-Haul to launch the first Project Yellow Light out-of-home media design contest. The winners of both the video and out-of-home design contests will be unveiled this afternoon on a digital billboard in New York’s Times Square that was donated by Clear Channel Outdoor.
Brothers Sam and Wrenn Senser from Louisville, Nebr. scooped the two grand prizes of $5,000 for the video contest, with Sam winning the college category, and Wrenn winning the high school category. The winners of the out-of-home media design contest were college student Bethany Wheeler from Snellville, Ga., and high school student Emily McDonald from Anaheim, Calif., with both receiving $2,000 scholarships. The winning videos can be viewed here.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7854051-ad-council-project-yellow-light-winners/
As part of their ongoing Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks. Texting and Driving Prevention campaign, the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are partnering with YouTube creator and actress Meg DeAngelis to raise awareness of this dangerous behavior. The collaboration also coincides with the release of new television campaign public service advertisements (PSAs) and the launch of Project Yellow Light, a national video contest and scholarship program that aims to educate young drivers on and generate engagement around this issue.
Meg is joining the effort as part of the Ad Council’s Creators for Good program by distributing new exclusive video content to her almost four million subscribers on YouTube. The video amplifies the campaign message, showing drivers that no matter how “safely” they think they can drive while doing other things, distracted driving is always dangerous. Created as an advice video, Meg runs through “10 Everyday Things You’re Doing Wrong” - from putting in bobby pins to folding your clothes - and ends with a serious message to her fans about the dangers of texting and driving.
“Texting and driving is such a serious issue, so I'm really proud to be a voice of this important campaign,” said DeAngelis. “I want all of my viewers to stay safe, so I hope that together, we can spread the word on the dangers of distracted driving.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7682151-ad-council-project-yellow-light/
To help prevent teen dating abuse throughout the country, Futures Without Violence and the Ad Council today launched a new mobile-first campaign as part of their “That’s Not Cool” public service effort. The national campaign aims to empower teens to set their own boundaries in their relationships when communicating through digital and social media. YouTube Creator Meghan Rienks is joining the effort as part of the Ad Council’s Creators for Good program with new exclusive video content that will be distributed to her more than 1.7 million subscribers.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7545451-ad-council-teen-dating-thats-not-cool/
What will it take for drivers to stop texting behind the wheel? Car-buying platform Edmunds.com believes that a gentle reminder from a loved one could do the trick.
Developers of the award-winning Edmunds app recently broke from their usual work to produce “DrivePromise by Edmunds,” a free app that allows Apple Watch and iPhone owners to make and keep a promise to focus on the road while driving. When the device detects that it is in a moving vehicle, it pops up an uploaded photo of a loved one along with a reminder to drive safely. The app keeps count of all of the user’s safe drives to share with friends and family.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7514851-drivepromise-edmunds-app/
Car-buying platform Edmunds.com today released an update to its acclaimed mobile app with a new feature that now makes it possible for shoppers to send text messages to car dealers with just a touch of a button. The innovation is the latest step in the growing trend of consumers drawn to “place messaging,” which offers a convenient way to interact with businesses via text in the same way that they do with friends and family.
Unlike other place messaging solutions that only work in concert with apps such as Snapchat and WhatsApp, Edmunds’ texting solution uses the phone’s native texting platform. That means all smartphones are capable of messaging dealers without relying on any other apps.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7523651-edmunds-com-text-car-dealers-app/
The Sandals Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), and Wade’s World Foundation, NBA Champion Dwyane Wade’s charitable organization, today officially opened donations to raise funds for Game Changer, an integrated sports program to benefit youth in underserved communities in South Florida and the Caribbean. Financial contributions can now be made through the Sandals Foundation’s website, as well as a new, text-to-donate campaign which was recently announced during Dwyane Wade’s 6th Annual Brand Wade Summit at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa, and allows donors to ‘change the game’ by texting GAME to 41444.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7324551-sandals-foundation-dwyane-wade-launch-game-changer-sports-youth-program/
To text or not to text? As, Valentine’s Day approaches, that is the question for the Romeos and Juliets of today’s digital world. Cricket Wireless commissioned a national survey1 to determine how people are beginning and ending relationships via mobile phone and to uncover lethal communication behaviors. According to the survey, 30 percent of Americans would ask someone out via text. Wooers must learn the digital courting code or risk suffering a tragic ending.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/56773-cricket-wireless-relationship-communication-survey-for-valentine-s-day
Just in time for the busiest travel season of the year, State Farm has released its annual research report on distracted driving, with troubling results. Though texting while driving remains a concern on the nation’s highways, people are also webbing while driving with increasing frequency. These behaviors may pose equal or greater concerns in the effort to reduce distracted driving.
The July 2012 survey of nearly 1000 motorists shines a light on a growing safety concern: people accessing the internet while driving. Four years of data show a significant increase in the use of mobile web services while driving.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/56793-state-farm-fourth-annual-survey-shows-significant-use-mobile-web-vehicle
The 6th annual Variety Power of Youth event, which took place Saturday, Sept. 15 in Los Angeles, Calif. was the perfect platform for Allstate’s XtheTXT campaign to encourage young drivers not to text and drive. During the event, Hollywood’s rising stars and others pledged not to text and drive by inking their thumbprints on a Ford Focus car wrapped with XtheTXT messaging and imagery.
In addition to many other young celebrities, including Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas, Jordin Sparks, Christian Serratos, Diego Boneta and R.J. Mitte, Vampire Diaries' star Kat Graham took the pledge not to text and drive.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58198-allstate-xthetxt-campaign-variety-power-of-youth-event-los-angeles
