Oscar Wilde said, “All art is quite useless,” because he hadn’t seen the PSA from Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, “Embrace Life.”
According to writer/director, Daniel Cox, in an article on sussessaferroads.gov.uk, the goal of the brief but striking PSA film was “to deliver a powerful message, but in a new way.” Millions of YouTube viewers agree: they succeeded.
You can watch the video from YouTube here or follow this link to the original website:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-8PBx7isoM
As an advocate for the arts in Greensboro, North Carolina, I appreciate the brilliant approach the “Embrace Life” artists and producers have taken to convey the simple message that seat belts save lives. As an attorney practicing in the field of personal injury practice, I’ve seen countless injuries and deaths that wouldn’t have occurred if drivers and passengers had worn their seatbelts.
Instead of frightening or repulsing viewers with the negative consequences of what happens to people when they don’t wear their seatbelts, the “Embrace Life” PSA reminds viewers why we should all buckle-up.
The video uses the story of a wife and daughter hugging a man like the straps of a seatbelt when he slams on breaks. The action doesn’t take place on the road, but in the home, as if the family imagines the emergency from the safety of their living room. It uses only a powerful score, no spoken words, to illustrate a moment we can all relate to. Viewers watch as the family’s faces portray the range of human emotions—from shock to surrender to gratitude—that a person might experience in a wreck that ends safely thanks to the driver, a lucky dad, wearing a seat belt.
Writer/director, Cox, really puts it best: “I wanted to create a visual metaphor addressing how a single decision in a person’s day can greatly influence both their own and their loved ones’ lives.” That’s exactly what he’s done; the world thanks him for it.
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