This video is shocking, quite realistic and it is probably very effective.
Produced on a modest budget of less than $20,000 this public service announcement has been seen on YouTube more than 2 million times and has been covered by many major news outlets. Developed by the Gwent police in Wales the four minute PSA was created to illustrate the dangers, and more importantly, the consequences of texting while driving. The video is targeted to young drivers but certainly applies to drivers of any age.
PSA’s have been around as long as television but are seeing a resurgence as costs of video production continue to drop and distribution (free) is not dependent on the goodwill of local television stations. There has been a considerable amount of conversation around whether this video is too graphic and whether this will lead to a slate of horrifically realistic PSA’s. Of course there is no ‘right ‘ answer to this issue, only opinions.
My opinion is that the quality of the video, the timeliness and importance of the message and the relative uniqueness (yes, I’ve seen many like it, but this one seems to stand out) of the video make it very powerful and, my guess is, very effective. I forwarded it to my kids and suggested they watch it.
Will this open the floodgates to a wave of graphic gun-shot victim, drug addiction, accident prevention and other public service messages. I don’t know. There is a fine line between too much and not enough reality in our lives.
