“It Can Wait” the campaign that unites the four major carriers in the US
A new major ad campaign that has been recently launched in the US unites the four biggest carriers in the country, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint against the potentially deadly habit for texting while driving. The companies embrace the logo of AT&T “It Can Wait”. The message of the campaign is focused on warning the smartphone users for the dangers of texting while driving.
Some companies, like AT&T and Verizon, in 2009, and Sprint Nextel Corp, in 2005 have launched similar ads and campaigns in the past. However, it is the first time when the four major rivals are getting together united by the mission to educate drivers. The campaign is provoked by the “epidemic” cases of more and more people who get involved in car crashes and accidents caused by texting while driving. According to some researches, the possibility to get involved in a car crash grows 23 times when you are getting distracted by this habit. There are more than 200 companies and partners that participate in the campaign. It includes TV and radio educational ads, as well as events, displays, social media events and a significant national tour with a special driving simulator. The campaign aims to educate young active people and especially teens for the risks from texting while behind the wheel. The multi-million dollar campaign is planned to continue until September with the options to be expanded.
Apart from the growing concerns of the carriers about the potential danger of the usage of their products while driving, many believe that the risks of this habit are not significant. The more important problem is the distracting of drivers in general, coming from different sources, including cell phones. It is difficult to separate the statistics for the car accidents related to cell phone usage, from the accidents caused by other distractions. However, it is a fact that thousands of people’s lives “could have been saved if someone had the sense to put down their cellphone.”, as Ray Lahood said (The Associated Press, Transportation Secretary) Embrace the message of the campaign “It Can Wait” and be more attentive on the road.
Source: AP
