RSA goes for the shock factor in new campaign

'Never Let Go', the latest campaign for the RSA by Irish International, warns people of the dangers of driving a car with defective tyres

John McGee

Most advertising campaigns for road safety provide for an element of the shock factor, served up with a number of uncomfortable home truths that make people take note.

The latest campaign from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) lives up to all of these expectations.

Created by Irish International, with media buying and planning by MediaVest, the campaign, 'Never Let Go' warns people of the dangers of driving a car with defective tyres. It follows on from the RSA's award-winning 'Anatomy of a Split Second', also created by Irish International.

The aim of the ad is to make people aware that tyres are the one point of contact their car has with the road.

The emotionally jarring TV ad shows a man slowly losing his grip with everyone close to him as the car spins out of control, flips in the air and lands, killing the driver on impact.

The new campaign will air on TV, radio, online and in cinemas over the coming weeks.

The insights informing the creative strategy came from research carried out by RSA, which revealed that vehicle factors played a role in 101 fatal collisions in the period 2008 to 2012.

The research formed part of a report which analysed 867 forensic collision investigation reports carried out by the gardaí over a number of years.

The research noted that defective tyres were a contributory factor in the deaths of 71 people between 2008 and 2012. Around 47pc of these fatalities were amongst 17-24-year-old drivers.

"This report and ad show that tyres are the parts of your car that are most likely to put you at risk of a fatal collision if they're not roadworthy.

"Don't assume you can tell if there's a problem just by looking at them - you can't," says Moyagh Murdoch, chief executive officer at the Road Safety Authority.