ANTECEDENTES

The Vision Zero program to improve road safety was approved and passed by the Swedish parliament in 1997. This program brings together traffic law enforcers, road users, providers and other stakeholders in a collective effort geared towards the formulation of performance targets. The aim is to eradicate deaths on Swedish roads entirely (Vision Zero Initiative, n.d.). Today, Sweden has a very low car crash rate, and is considered to have the safest roads in the world (Figure 4.5). National legislation commits Sweden to eliminating the risk of dying in accidents on Swedish roads (Flegenheimer, 2014). Recent statistics indicate that a very small number of people are killed in car crashes in Sweden. In 2003, there were 500 deaths on Swedish roads, which is apparently low in comparison to other countries (S. N., 2014). For a state with a large population and heavy traffic, the signifies success in ensuring road safety.

Figure 4.5. Decline of Road Deaths and Death Risk in Sweden (1995–2005) (Larsson, 2006)

Notwithstanding this accomplishment, Sweden continues to use RSCs in its effort to achieve its aim of zero fatalities from road accidents. As explained in its Vision Zero strategy, Swedish RSCs and advertisements address speeding and drunk driving as the major

problems. Hence, campaigns focused on convincing road users to change their attitudes and behaviours and adopt safer driving practices. They appear to be successful (Figure 4.6).

Figure 4.6. Decline in Rates of Persons Killed in Car Crashes (2004–2005) (Larsson, 2006)

Although the establishment of Zero Vision is associated with the Swedish fight for safety on its roads, the nation has been using advertising campaigns for a long time. Thus, public campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s argued against speeding and drunk driving. The other issues raised included the need of wearing seatbelts or safety kits, such as helmets and child car seats, adhering to general traffic safety measures, and considering other road users (Kim, 2013). These messages were predominantly transmitted via television commercials, newspaper and magazine advertisements, leaflets and billboards.

The list of the major advertisement campaigns carried out in Sweden includes No Extra Life; Traffic lights, are they necessary?; Would You Dare to Encounter Yourself?; Vägverket ‘Coola Killen’ (translated as ‘Swedish Road Administration “Cool Guy”’). The focus of this section is on the No Extra Life9 road safety advertising campaign. The creative concept for the campaign was created by Henrik Henrik Films on behalf of the MHF (Motorists against Drinking and Driving). This non-governmental organisation aims at enhancing the road safety of Sweden in general and Stockholm in particular. The campaign was launched in 2011.

9 _{“No Extra Life” is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0NY9tfJtgA}

4.5.1. Reasons for the Choice of the No Extra Life Campaign

The No Extra Life campaign addressed two problems: speeding and drunk driving. Although the latter is not a problem for Saudi Arabia, the campaign should be discussed in advance of this issue’s possible emergence. Due to globalisation Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the international economy, the youth of Saudi Arabia tend to adopt the habits of European and American youth. Thus, No Extra Life is a valuable case study from which Saudis can derive lessons for the future in case the need arises. Furthermore, this campaign touches upon speeding as a factor contributing to car crashes. The issue is relevant for Saudi Arabia, where young people are at the highest risk of car crash fatalities. Therefore, the No Extra Life campaign provides a solid framework for executing youth-targeted RSCs with a high level of acceptability in this group.

4.5.2. Identification of Target Behaviour and Target Audience for the Campaign

According to Luoma and Sivak (2013), behaviours leading to road accidents in Sweden include speeding, sober driving, failure to use seatbelts and driving while fatigued. Speeding seems to be the most serious problem because of high-quality Swedish roads combined with low levels of traffic density, which provides a fertile ground for drivers to violate speed limits. According to the experiences of other developed countries, such as the UK, the USA, and the Netherlands, Sweden has the lowest levels of drunk drivers, and the lowest rates of speeding (Luoma & Sivak, 2013, p. 14, 16). However, Sweden wants to reduce fatal road accidents to zero. A variety of public campaigns has already increased public awareness of the importance of safe driving and of understanding of dramatic consequences of dangerous driving practices (ETSC, 2011). While older drivers tend to obey traffic laws, young drivers aged from 16–24 years are a high-risk group. Young drivers practising drunk driving and speeding are the key contributors to the remaining car accidents on Swedish roads. Hence, young drivers were the target audience of No Extra Life campaign.

4.5.3. Message Design

No Extra Life is a 50-second TV commercial; its first scene opens with four youthful passengers – one female and three males – being driven in a red sedan by their friend. It is apparent that all occupants of the car are under the influence of alcohol, and the car is speeding along a narrow two-lane highway. It overtakes one car, and edges closer to a huge truck in the near horizon. Once again, the driver attempts to overtake the huge truck by pulling away into the next lane. However, there is another car coming from the opposite

direction on that lane, which the driver has not seen. To swerve away from that oncoming car and to avoid an accident, the driver loses control of the car, which leads to its careening off the road, eventually overturning, and becoming a mangled wreck. In the aftermath, nothing stirs. There is no movement, no scream, nothing. The only thing that moves is a swaying and blood-soaked pendant dangling near the driver’s seat. It is apparent that the car’s occupants have perished.

Source: The ‘No Extra Life’ commercial

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0NY9tfJtgA)

Figures 4.7 - 4.8. Snapshots of the ‘No Extra Life’ Commercial

4.5.4. The Use of Theoretical Models in Underpinning the Conceptual Design of the Campaign

The beauty of sustained road safety advertising and publicity campaigns is that message repetition leads to reinforcement and increases the possibility of a greater action towards achieving the desired end states. However, the use of repetition also diminishes the impact and the contribution to the achievement of the ad’s objective. Contrary to Aristotle’s assertions, the use of the metaphor here is not merely a stylistic device aimed at ornamentally reinforcing the message; it serves a much deeper purpose. It greatly aids in the extension of the core idea beyond the realm of the experience; it fosters meaning creation by using imagination, in this way, it adds to the No Extra Life campaign’s persuasive punch as well. The campaign utilises a wildly popular fad among Swedish youth – gaming – and makes connections between the car racing game and a real-life situation. In this rendering, the real life is the tenor, while the game is the vehicle. Central to the comprehension of this metaphor is the grasp of the concept of ‘permadeath’ understood by gamers as a permanent and

irreversible death of a character in the game (Bainbridge, 2013). Because of technological advances, gamers can restore their favourite characters to life whenever they get killed in action by simply reloading or restarting from the last ‘savepoint’ (Bainbridge, 2013). This capability is present in most of popular games. In the context of No Extra Life, the message stresses the fact that drunk driving is safe only in video games while in real life it has serious consequences. It is only possible to restore one’s life in the gaming world; real life provides no such opportunity.

Life is complex and unpredictable with no save-points for restoring one’s life in case of a fatal car crash. The use of this gaming concept serves to remind youth that it is not necessary to risk one’s life through alcohol-induced dangerous driving stunts. In the four-pronged classification of metaphorical renderings by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), this qualifies as a structural metaphor (in Coopmans et al., 2014). To the credit of No Extra Life’s creators, the structural metaphor accentuates differences between gamers’ virtual lives and real life to achieve a powerful effect.

In line with this use of metaphor, it is possible to flesh out the conceptual structure, grounding, and definition of the youthful Swedish audiences, making possible the development and categorisation of the schema (Coopmans et al., 2014). In other words, characteristics of young drivers’ population are fundament for the design of a road safety campaign. Appealing to youth through media that are their main means of communication and consumption, No Extra Life succeeds in reaching the target audience with the message in the most effective way. The game-based focus narrows the message to the youth cohort, removing any adult audience colouring.

Though recognising the value of applying gaming linguistics and concepts to real life, the No Extra Life campaign also uses some other techniques of persuasion. The two-shot construction of the advertisement adds power to the message delivery and increases its acceptance. There is a rapid cut between two different scenarios; no transition between virtual life and real life is provided. The technique of rapid cutting is used throughout the advertisement and serves to produce an unexpected persuasive influence on viewers. The use of rapid cuts in the commercial not only offers the viewer a visual relief, but also helps in the construction of meaning. For example, a rapid cut to the speedometer lets the viewer know just how fast the car is moving.

Similar to rapid cuts, the use of close-up, medium-range, and reverse angle shots as well as screenshots of the driver and some passengers offers a visual relief. An additional contribution to relief is achieved through lighting. In some instances, low-key lighting is used to partially obscure passengers’ faces. This technique serves to presage imminent danger, suspense, and worry as the car cruises towards the truck, pulls away from it straight into an oncoming car, swerves to avoid the oncoming car, and ends up plunging into the road’s shoulders. The use of extra-bright lighting in the second scene enhances the excitement and thrill and reinforces the party atmosphere.

It is crucial to point out the symbolic use of gaming icons in the second scene, revealing that the former scene was only a game. At the top left corner of the game screenshot, one may observe car icons with the text above: ‘number of lives left.’ These car icons progressively disappear as the car hurtles towards the inevitable crash and destruction. This life indicator is a powerful use of visual symbolism that dramatically enacts a positive correlation between sober driving and risk of fatalities to connect the commercial’s images with its meaning.

4.5.5. Audience Segmentation and Targeting

It is an established fact that sober driving, typically accompanied by speeding, is the major problem among drivers aged between 16 and 24. Hence, this age cohort was the target audience.

4.5.6. Choice of Media Channels

Typically, members of the 16 to 24 age cohort are hardly reachable through conventional media channels, but digital media channels are popular ways of communication among young people. Hence, the internet was selected as the most suitable media channel to deliver the campaign’s message through computer-mediated technologies. The primary distributor was the video sharing site, YouTube. Additionally, the No Extra Life campaign utilised television because of its strong visual capabilities and the mass-appeal nature. Since the campaign relied on a powerful visual appeal, it was advantageous to use television to convey the message of the No Extra Life campaign. Hence, the campaign used only those media channels that were relevant in reaching the target audience.

Studies evaluating the impact of the No Extra Life RSC are still in their seminal stages, and therefore, empirical conclusions on the campaign’s effectiveness cannot yet be drawn. However, various intermediate pointers point to the campaign’s runaway success. For example, the campaign has already been shortlisted for the European Film Awards in the section that recognises and rewards the best advertisements in various categories. This signified the campaign’s recognition by the public.