–Dan Kelly, Attorney

For as long as I have been watching television, I have seen countless public service announcements telling me to wear a seat belt.  One series that sticks out in my recollection is the “You could learn a lot from a dummy” ads.  I think I recall these mostly because there were so many of them, and there was a modicum of character development involved–the dummies were Vince and Larry.  These were not high art, but according to the Ad Council, they were effective.

There have been other seat belt campaigns.  Here’s a PSA from the 1970’s, and here’s one about the inventor of the seat belt.  In the history of seat belt PSAs, there seem to be two principal categories:  humor and shock.  Often, these PSA campaigns have slogans, too:  Click It or Ticket, Drive Alive, Buckle Up . . .

Until this week, it had never really occurred to me to appreciate the artistic side of public service announcements, and then I saw the Sussex Safer Roads PartnershipEmbrace Life” PSA:

I believe this PSA was unveiled a little over a month ago, and it already has more than two million views on YouTube.  The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership has a page discussing the making of this PSA and other elements of the campaign, which include the use of graffiti, which seems like a bold, novel step.

I think that the PSA and the “Embrace Life” slogan are both home runs.  Well done!