A Facebook campaign is underway to put Embrace Life, the newest campaign from the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP), on TV after it secures the top three search results on Google.com.
Released on Wednesday 20 January, Embrace Life has swept around the internet, pulling hits to www.embracethis.co.uk in from across 55 countries around the world. Facebook in particular is driving traffic to the SSRP’s seat belt campaign and a group has been created by one impressed viewer to have it screened on national TV.
Neil Hopkins, Communications Manager for the SSRP, commented; “I am delighted by the way that Embrace Life has been welcomed by the public. We developed the concept to provide a talking point around the issue of individuals not wearing their seat belts.
“It appears that we’ve touched a nerve with the campaign, and I’ve received many positive comments concentrating on the way that Embrace Life delivers an emotional impact, but without the use of blood or gore.”
The advert is also being picked up by motoring blogs and public discussion forums, driving further traffic to www.embracethis.co.uk – and many viewers are calling for the advert to be shown more widely on TV.
“We are keen to open the dialogue with the team at the Department for Transport (DfT) responsible for putting out the national road safety TV campaigns,” Neil continues.
“We’ve had individuals from all walks of life – including the creative sector – praising the film and urging us to promote it via TV. As a local partnership, we haven’t got the financial capability to create a national TV campaign, which is why we’re looking to work with the DfT who already use the medium to get their messages out.”
Anyone wishing to lend their support to the campaign can join the dedicated Facebook group – either search for ‘Embrace Life TV’ in Facebook, or type http://tinyurl.com/EmbraceTV into your browser.
The campaign is also gaining attention through some of its more unorthodox promotional techniques. Working with a prominent graffiti artist has seen sites in Brighton previously littered with unsightly tags turning into large scale public place artworks to support the campaign.
Furthermore, the SSRP team contacted members of the media and creative industries throughout Sussex prior to the launch with thermoreactive postcards, bearing a cryptic message directing the recipients to www.embracethis.co.uk.
These unusual tactics helped the site to smash through 1,100 page views the day after the advert went live, and the total is still climbing – currently sitting at over 4,500 visitors who have viewed www.embracethis.co.uk a total of over 6,000 times.
For all of the positive comments and promotion of Embrace Life, it is important not to overlook the reason that it was created.
“Not wearing a seat belt can make what should be a minor accident into a major one,” concludes Neil Hopkins.
“On the morning of the launch, we heard from a Clinical Fellow in A&E who had been treating a driver thrown through his windscreen because he was not wearing his seat belt.
“It’s likely that he’ll never walk again, nor be able to provide for his family and all because he didn’t spend a moment clipping his seat belt in. We hope that Embrace Life reminds everyone how important it is to be properly belted in, whether you’re the driver or a passenger.”