TOW #19: Drunk Driving Ad

                This image, depicting a shocking fact in an unconventional way, recently went viral on twitter. Users retweeted this message with the very obvious intent of swaying others to never drive drunk. The picture incorporates elements of ethos and pathos to speak to its audience, as most ads such as these do. However, this picture makes an unusually compelling argument by looking at the facts from an unconventional perspective. Instead of showing a crashed car, injured victims, or other depressing and graphic photos that usually characterize anti-drunk driving campaigns, this ad takes a different approach. It focuses on the true tragedies of drunk driving; the long term effects of the accidents. Telling a person that “every 48 seconds, another person becomes handicapped because of a drunk driver”, most likely would not have a lasting effect on them. It would certainly shock and sadden them, but it would be almost impossible for anyone to truly be able to understand this fact if it is stated as such a dry statistic. By incorporating the fact into a handicapped parking space, something we all see every day and do not usually give much thought to, the fact becomes less of a dry statistic and more of a profound truth. Old and young drivers alike can understand this kind of statement, allowing all drivers to understand the message on a deep level. This image presents something that will truly stick in a driver’s head and make them stop and think. Later, if they are about to make a bad decision, they have a much better chance of choosing to be safe if they remember this simple ad.