Y&R South Africa Delivers a Very Depressing Seatbelt Safety PSA

By Erik Oster 

Y&R launched a PSA campaign for Safely Home, Western Cape Department of Transport with a harrowing 90-second spot called “The First Kiss.”

The spot follows the story of a young couple who hit it off at a party. They spend the night hanging out and keep almost experiencing their first kiss before they are interrupted in a variety of ways.

The last of these interruptions comes as they’re about to leave, but their ride home says it’s time to go. As they pile in the car, the guy makes the fateful decision not to wear a seatbelt. As it happens, the titular kiss arrives with the boy’s body crashing into the girl, as the momentum flinging him around kills the other passengers in the car.

While undoubtedly on the melodramatic side, the spot delivers the important, and often overlooked, message that deciding not to wear a seatbelt can be dangerous to those other than the one making that misguided decision. Despite it being fairly obvious that the ad will end in tragedy, the crash scene still somehow manages to be powerful and somewhat shocking in its sudden violence punctuating the previously wistful mood.

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Credits:

Client: Safely Home, Western Cape Department of Transport
Agency: Y&R
Agency Producer: Justin Fraser
ECD: Graham Lang
Creative Director: Nkanyezi Masango
Creative Director: Gareth Cohen

Production Company: Egg Films
Director: Jason Fialkov
Director of Photography: Willie Nel
Producer: Martina Schieder
Executive Producer: Kerry Hosford
Art Director: William Boyes

Postproduction: Upstairs Ludus
Editing: Upstairs Ludus
Editor: Shaun Broude

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