Set in a suburban family home, initially this spot presents an unremarkable slice-of-life approach. But the dialogue—delivered in a bustling, everyday tone—soon reveals that we’re really witnessing the prelude to a slice of death.
In this poignant piece for the Traffic Safety Bureau of the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department, a man sits at the dining room table, reading his newspaper. Behind him, his wife briskly shuttles back and forth, in and out of view, gathering her belongings for a trip to the supermarket.
"Hon’, I’m going to take the kids to the grocery store with me," she tells her hubby.
"Okay, sweetie," he responds, still focusing on the morning paper.
"It’s not very far, so I’m not going to buckle the kids in," she continues. "When we get rear-ended, Billy’s going to fly through the windshield and break his neck and back—so this is the last time you’re going to see him alive."
We then see the mom move into the living room, lifting up Billy with loving efficiency. She heads out the front door, followed by her young daughter—embarking on their tragic errand. "Alright, darlin’," calls the father from the next room.
"People don’t talk this way, but they act this way," explains a voiceover. "If you won’t stop driving without seatbelts, we’ll stop you."
Supered over the empty living room scene is the closing tag: "New Mexico Law Enforcement. Operation Super Blitz."
"Buckle Down" is part of a three-spot traffic violations public service campaign, directed by Wrye Martin of Minneapolis-based Wilson Griak for Albuquerque, N.M., ad agency Rick Johnson & Co.
The same matter-of-fact, everyday tone marks the campaign’s other commercials. In "DWI," a man tells his wife that he’s off to "watch the game with the guys." He says that he’ll "have a few too many drinks," thereby "crash[ing] head-on into a minivan, killing an innocent family—and, uh, also killing myself." The woman responds approvingly. "I love you," her husband adds, on his way out the door.
Similarly, in "Underage," a woman asks her son where he’s going. He replies that he’s headed for Johnny’s house. Johnny’s parents are out of town, his refrigerator is fully stocked with beer and the boys plan to get "totally wasted." They’ll go joyriding, crash into a telephone pole and, "You’ll never see me alive again, OK?" Mom’s response: "Alright, sweetie."
The overall campaign recently took home top honors at the 38th annual New Mexico Advertising Federation’s Addy Awards. Along with best-of-show distinction, the spots earned first-place public service Addys for regional/national campaign, and topped the electronic media category.
The Rick Johnson & Co. team included creative director Ron Salzberg, copywriter Tim Pegors and art director Kelly Marshall. Pegors and Marshall also served as agency producers.
"We looked at a lot of reels and felt Wrye Martin showed the sensitivity the spots required," said Pegors. "Wrye felt the spots should not be too broad or absurd or funny; they needed to be chilling. The reason the spots are good is that they are so chilling."
For Wilson Griak, Ridge Henderson and Marie Domingo served as executive producer and producer, respectively. The DP was Mike Welckle.
Lindy Wilson at Spotnik, Minneapolis, edited the commercials. Contributors from Minneapolis post house Crash & Sue’s were mono-monikered online editor Crash, assistant editor Derek Johnson, colorist Sue Lakso and assistant colorist Ben Boyd. Audio engineer was Ken Brahmstedt of Wow & Flutter, Minneapolis.
