AT&T today announced a campaign aimed at curtailing the unsafe practice of texting while driving. The carrier hopes to raise awareness about the risks of texting and driving and remind all wireless consumers, especially youth, that text messages can, and should, wait until after driving.
The national campaign features true stories and the text message that was sent or received before someone's life was altered, or even ended, because of texting and driving. By featuring real stories, the campaign will demonstrate how insignificant a text message is compared to the potentially dire consequences of reading or responding while driving.
In one of the television spots, the text "Where u at?" flashes on the screen and a mother says, "This is the text my daughter was reading when she drove into oncoming traffic." The ad also includes the message "No text is worth dying over" and the campaign's tagline, "Txtng & Drivng ... It Can Wait."
"We explored several campaign concepts but we didn't have our 'aha!' moment until we asked one of our focus groups to take out their devices and read the last text they received," said Cathy Coughlin, senior executive vice president and global marketing officer for AT&T, in a statement. "When we asked if that particular message was worth the potential risk of reading while driving at 65 mph, you could have heard a pin drop. That's when we realized the message 'it can wait' was effective in educating consumers about the dangers of texting while driving."
The new campaign will roll out in the coming months and will span print, radio, TV and online advertising. In addition, parents, high school educators and youth can now visit AT&T's online resource center. The site includes downloadable information about texting while driving, as well as parent-teen pledges, a brochure and safety tips.