HAVE you noticed the advertising people have started to use colourful language again? That's code, of course, for swear words.
The latest is a campaign calling people dickheads. Louise is predictably appalled, but Charlie, who is getting on a bit, doesn't even know what the word means. And as a younger woman, Louise thinks he is one for not knowing what it is.
It's a cheeky campaign run by VicRoads using humour and viral advertising to get the message across. And it's a timely message with road accidents and deaths always peaking at Easter.
Going for a drive is always very pleasurable at the weekends. Charlie remembers his dad going over the Black Spur in a 1936 Chevrolet. It would always boil as it got near the top, as did his dad's temper.
It was a pleasurable time though because the roads were much safer and cars were slower. Nothing was much slower than the '36 Chev, said Charlie. But as the years rolled by, cars became more powerful and faster and the roads not much bigger. And to add to that, Charlie and his mates with their green Lycra and 24-speed Shogun trendy bikes wanted their share of the road. To say nothing of the Harley-Davidsons that only seem to go around in groups of 20.
A Sunday afternoon drive also came under pressure with the AFL moving some good matches to be telecast live. But driving on Sunday afternoon is not really the problem. It's all the other times that cause the trouble. The heady mix of fast cars, alcohol and drugs meant the road toll started going through the roof and, by the early '90s, was out of control. The government moved decisively. Booze buses were introduced and had an immediate effect, together with the seatbelt campaign.
Advertising and the first of the road safety campaigns became the important social tool as our Transport Accident Commission swung into action. The ads became part of the landscape - and a successful part too. Two themed campaigns emerged - "If you drink, then drive, you're a bloody idiot" and "Wipe off 5".
The TAC knows that solid messages year in and year out are the way to tackle the problem. Apart from dealing with drivers, it has to be done in a responsible way that understands the grieving families of whom there are sadly too many.
The TAC campaigns have worked. In 1989, at its inception, the road toll was 776. Since then, the roads have become more hectic and the population increased in Victoria from 4.3 million to 5.5 million. And 20 years later the 776 became 290. A fantastic result.
The TAC campaign is a campaign that has been copied by many. It is a balance of awareness and shock, with responsibility. The latest VicRoads campaign does not use the broader media and relies on internet distribution and risky humour. Not an easy thing to get right.
Wiser heads are saying that the history of the TAC and its campaigns in Victoria are more likely to make the roads safer this Easter.
Harold Mitchell is the executive chairman of Mitchell Communication Group.
