Distracted driving is one of the biggest threats to roadway safety in Colorado, causing thousands of crashes each year. While nearly all drivers admit the perils of driving distracted, they continue to do it — in part because there is no societal pressure to stop. As part of a 2020 campaign for the Colorado Department of Transportation, CIG set out to change that.

Armed with psychological research supporting the fact that the reactions of others can be a powerful deterrent to negative behavior, CIG developed the “Distraction Reactions” campaign with the goal of creating stigma around distracted driving and changing the social norm. By capturing expressions of disgust, horror, shock and fear among fellow drivers and road users, the campaign used the disapproval of peers as a primary motivating factor to prevent Coloradans from driving distracted. These reactions were brought to life through short videos, in English and Spanish, distributed on web and social media including Snapchat, Pandora radio spots and custom coffee sleeves placed in over 50 coffee shops across the state.

In FY2021, CDOT’s Distraction Reactions campaign evolved to expand reach through earned media efforts. We focused on vulnerable road users, who are at a greater risk of being harmed by distracted drivers, including cyclists, pedestrians, roadway construction workers and motorcyclists. To capture their stories, we collected audio recordings, written documentation and photographs of individuals who have been impacted by a distracted driver in Colorado to humanize the issue and highlight the real impacts of distracted driving.

With these stories in hand, CIG set out to capture public and media attention. To truly change behavior, some drivers need to put themselves directly in the distracted driver’s seat and look their potential victims in the eyes. To accomplish this, CIG and Harmonic Media created a unique display designed to look like the front seat of a car. Visitors stood behind the steering wheel and looked through the windshield, just as if they were driving. Instead of the road ahead, they saw what they should be focused on while driving: real people, with real stories of grief. The display was unveiled at Stanley Marketplace and remained on-site throughout April with nearly 105,000 in-person visitors.

2022 Gold Pick, PRSA Colorado, Distracted Driving Victim Display | 2021 Gold Pick, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Colorado | 2021 Gold Pick, PRSA Colorado, Integrated Campaign, Government

Client: CDOT | Agency: CIG | Creative Direction & Design: Kristan Butler | Account Management: Sam Stavish, Abby Tillinghast | Copywriter: Jay Roth | Video Production and Photography: Futuristic Films | Media Planning: Vladamir Jones | Fabrication Design: Harmonic Media | Audio: Rocky Mountain Recorders | Spanish Translation: Hispanidad | Victims Video Editing and Motion Graphics: Tati Jones