We’ve seen a lot of great print ads over the years, often relying on humor to make the viewer do a double take. But now we also see something clever and deadly dangerous – which is exactly what happens in these road safety ads.
Right now on Reddit, the ads show close-ups of people wearing seat belts. Decorating their chests is their birthday and, perhaps, death – and the last one is covered by a seat belt. Because it saved their lives, yes! (Looking for more inspiration? Check out the best print ads of all time.)
The surprisingly simple ad is currently at the top of Reddit’s r/DesignPorn page, with over 50,000 votes. “It took me a second. Good job,” one user comments, while another adds, “Very good. It took a while, but when I noticed the message, it just flashed.” According to adsoftheworld (opens in a new tab)the campaign was created for the Quebec Automobile Insurance Society by creative agency lg2 (opens in a new tab) in 2012.
Yes, we have a few questions. First of all, who goes around wearing their birthday on a t-shirt? And judging by the little glimpses we have of the year of death, if it were these people, I would be very worried when the year ending in 2 comes around.
Still, we’re still picky – this is one of the smartest print ads we’ve seen lately. Indeed, it seems that road safety posters are where the smartest ideas come from, like this clever ad that discourages drivers from texting on the road.
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