You have to spend some time around Australians to fully appreciate the culture that has been fostered on the ass-end of the world. Having spent more years than I can count competing in sports against Australians, I already had an appreciation for the direct no-bullshit approach to personal communication that comes from the land down under. It is the same trait that gets Casey Stoner in trouble with fans, as when the former (and soon-to-be?) World Champion calls a spade a spade, well…it rubs them the wrong way, especially us Americans (case in point, the 2011 Indianapolis GP asphalt debacle).
You see, Americans in a broad-stroke generality don’t like to be told our babies are ugly, or that the Emperor has no clothes. Similarly, when it comes to our highway safety campaigns, we are coddled with cute public service announcements that do little to speak honestly about the reality of situations. That’s not the case in Australia however, as for the past month I’ve been assaulted with healthy & safety messages concerning motorcycles that do anything but mince words.
I’m not sure if this is an atypical period of time, where Australia is trying to drive the message home about rider safety, but the Aussies are doing a good job of blitzing Google, highway billboards, and TV adverts on the realities of riding recklessly on a motorcycle. The images aren’t for the faint of heart either, and the message is virtually everywhere you turn near Phillip Island, though I’ve seen the ads up north in Sydney with abundance as well. More shock than awe, the image of man with full-body road rash (seen above) is a common one in the campaign, but the piece that takes the cake has to be a TV commercial I saw the other night.
I can’t do the advert justice by describing it, so watch it below, and be sure to watch it all the way to the end. It makes Mothers Against Drunk Driving look like a bunch of old maids who sit around and play Parcheesi. NTHSA take note, and good onya TAC.
Source: TAC
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