Clemenger BBDO created a surprisingly gruesome PSA for Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission (TAC), playing with animation and tropes of toy advertising before cutting to the grisly reality of people being injured by riding e-scooters dangerously.
One TVC depicts a man who decides to ride an e-scooter after a night out, another someone riding on the footpath. The switch from colourful animation courtesy of Mighty Nice to the stark reality of a broken bone and large head gash shocks viewers into paying attention. The deliberate juxtaposition is followed by the tagline, ‘If you think e-scooters are a toy, think again.’
The campaign continues into OOH with animated depictions of injured people, while the radio spots play with the tropes of a classic ‘toy’ ad.
Jumping from an animated, toy-esque world to a grim and grisly reality is a bold move for the category, and does justice to the message.