Risky driving behavior is no laughing matter. In New Mexico, unsafe practices behind the wheel—ranging from drunk driving to tailgating—killed 350 people and injured more than 20,000 in 2001.
Even so, Albuquerque-based ad agency Rick Johnson & Co. opted for humor in order to gain the audience’s attention and to ultimately combat the problem. In "Driver’s Ed/Boy," a twoshot shows a grizzled driving instructor and a teenager in a car with a "Student Driver" sign perched atop the roof. The driving lesson is about to begin.
The driving instructor outlines the details of the session: "Ben, we’re going to skip parallel parking and go straight to tailgating. Let’s get out there on the interstate, find us a semi, show ’em who’s boss."
Next, we see Ben on the road, the car’s right-turn blinker flashing. "No, no, no," admonishes the instructor. "You don’t use the turn signal. It’s nobody’s business where you’re going."
Then we hear Ben practicing his road rage. Berating another motorist, Ben screams out the window, "What are you doing?" The instructor shows him how to sound angrier. Ben tries to emulate him.
After that, the instructor asks Ben to perform other "essential duties" while driving at the same time. For example, Ben must prepare a cup of coffee for his mentor. "I’m a two cream, one sugar guy," says the teacher, handing Ben a commuter mug and some creams.
"This is a cell phone, son," relates the instructor, offering another valuable lesson. He throws the phone in the backseat. "Get that for me," he commands Ben, who does just that, turning his attention away from the road.
A voiceover intervenes, "You didn’t learn to drive this way. So why do you drive this way?"
The two shot gives way to a black background with supered copy, which the voiceover reads: "If you don’t stop driving dangerously, we’ll stop you. New Mexico Law Enforcement."
"Driver’s Ed/Boy" is one of two spots in a campaign for the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department’s Traffic Safety Bureau. The other spot shows the same driving instructor with a teenage girl as his pupil. The girl gets a lesson on how to simultaneously apply mascara and change the radio station while driving.
Scott Johnson, creative director at Rick Johnson & Co., observed, "It is not every day that an agency gets to create a campaign that can and will save lives. What makes the spots work so well is that the humor taps into the ridiculous truth about how people drive on a daily basis."
Johnson headed a creative agency ensemble that also included art director Mike Penn, associate creative director/writer Sam Maclay and producer Sterling Grant Jr., who is with Rick Johnson & Co.’s production house, Sterling Productions, Albuquerque.
Rick Johnson & Co. selected Jason Reitman of Tate & Partners, Santa Monica, to direct the campaign. Tate & Partners loaned the director to the agency, which produced the job via Sterling Productions. The DP was Eric Steelberg. Christie Thornley produced for Sterling Productions.
Offline/online editor was Sterling Grant III of Sterling Productions. Colorist was Omar Godinez of The Filmworkers Club, Dallas. Sound designer/ audio mixer was John Wagner of John Wagner Recording Studios, Albuquerque.
