AT&T to use virtual reality in campaign against distracted driving

Today, as part of the It Can Wait movement, AT&T announced a new Virtual Reality simulation app, 100-city VR tour and long-form video to help broaden recognition that the distracted driving problem is bigger than texting.

The new 3D virtual reality simulation shows what can happen when you take your eyes off the road to read an email, scroll, send a text, post to your social media accounts or engage in other smartphone distractions. AT&T research released a few weeks ago found that 7 in 10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving, including video chatting and posting selfies.

Here are more details on what’s included in the new campaign:

• The It Can Wait Driving Simulation (Virtual Reality app) provides an unprecedented level of immersion by using virtual reality to give viewers a 360-degree account of what it is really like to text/post/video chat while driving and the potentially deadly consequences of glancing at your phone while driving.
  • As a tech company, AT&T is bringing this mobile-first experience to all drivers by providing a free app (available for iOS and Android) that works with Google Cardboard allowing drivers to use their own smartphones to experience the VR simulation at ItCanWait.com/VR.
  • The VR simulator will embark on a 100-city tour across the United States.

• To help broaden recognition of this issue, AT&T and BBDO have developed a compelling long-form video “Close to Home” and series of three 30-second ad spots that showcase the consequences of smartphone distracted driving behaviors.
  • Through slow-motion cinematography (shot at 1000 frames per second), viewers are able to see the jarring aftermath of taking their eyes off the road to glance at or tap on a smartphone while driving. The video contextualizes a normal day that turns life-threatening when a driver makes an unsafe choice behind the wheel. The scene plays back in reverse, showing the actual cause of the tragedy at the very end, where the simple cause of using a phone while driving is revealed.
  • The 30-second ad spots that will run nationwide beginning today July 17 and can also be viewed here: “No Post”, “No Email”, “No Glance”