AT&T's Latest 'It Can Wait' Ad Shows a Brutal Crash in Reverse, but There's No Going Back

AT&T's "It Can Wait" texting-and-driving campaign from BBDO New York has included many notable executions, including the painful Werner Herzog documentary from 2013. And the latest spot is no exception, featuring quietly gripping storytelling from Anonymous Content director Frederic Planchon that suddenly explodes with horror. The almost four-minute film is remarkable. (It's supported by three 30-second spots, one of which will run on TV.) Slow-motion cinematography, shot at 1,000 frames per second, captures the brutal consequences of taking your eyes off the road to glance at your smartphone, even briefly. The footage then plays in reverse, ending on the cause of the terrible crash. [kickout id="1"] That cause, notably, isn't that the driver was texting. The "It Can Wait" campaign has always focused on texting, but it's now evolving based on new research that revealed the prevalence of drivers engaging in other smartphone activities, like social media, Web surfing, video chatting and more. The campaign is evolving in other ways, too. AT&T, working with Reel FX, has developed an app called the It Can Wait Driving Simulation that uses virtual reality to give an immersive view of what it is like to text, post or video chat while driving. The VR simulator is freely available for iOS and Android and works with Google Cardboard. A souped-up version of the simulator—running through the Samsung Gear VR headset, with premium sound from Bose QuietComfort 25 acoustic noise canceling headphones—will soon go on tour, visiting schools, fairs and partner companies in 100 U.S. cities. CREDITS Client: AT&T Title: "Close to Home" Agency: BBDO New York Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn Executive Creative Director: Matt MacDonald Senior Creative Directors: L.P. Tremblay, Erik Fahrenkopf Creative Director, Art Director: Grant Mason Creative Director, Copywriter: Kevin Mulroy Director of Integrated Production: David Rolfe Group Executive Producer: Julie Collins Executive Producer: Dan Blaney Music Producer: Melissa Chester Senior Integrated Business Manager: Cristina Blanco Managing Director: Mark Cadman Senior Account Director: Brian Nienhaus Account Director: Gati Curtis Account Manager: Johnny Wardell Account Executive: Sigourney Hudson-Clemons Production Company: Anonymous Content Director: Frederic Planchon Executive Producer: Eric Stern Producer: Paul Ure Director of Photography: Jody Lee Lipes Editing: WORK Editorial Editor: Rich Orrick Assistant Editors: Adam Witten, Trevor Myers Executive Producer: Erica Thompson Producer: Sari Resnick Visual Effects: The Mill Executive Producer, Head of Production: Sean Costelloe Line Producer: Nirad "Bugs" Russell Visual Effects Supervisor: Gavin Wellsman 2-D Leads: Gavin Wellsman, Krissy Nordella 2-D Compositors: Michael Smith, Chris Sonia, Keith Sullivan 2-D Assistants: Heather Kennedy; Sungeun Moon, Yoon-sun Bae, Marco Maldera 3-D: Yili Orana, Corey Langelotti Previsual Artist: Jeffrey Lee Editor: Charlotte Carr Designer: Clemens den Exter Color: The Mill Colorist: Aline Sinquin Music House: Grooveworx Executive Producer: Dain Blair Sound Design: Brian Emrich Original Music Composer: Rob Simonsen Sound: Sonic Union Sound Mixer: Steve Rosen Motions Graphics, Titles: Polyester —It Can Wait VR App Reel FX Team: Gary Banks Keith McCabe Dale Carmen Dan Ferguson Leigh Mergehenn Ethan Compton Kacie Bangle Rachel Bradley Justin Skerpan Molli Leggitt Barrett Lewis Chas Naylor Patton Tunstall Lyn Caudle Jared Brower Dylan Rogers Steve Johnson

AdFreak

AT&T's Latest 'It Can Wait' Ad Shows a Brutal Crash in Reverse, but There's No Going Back

Message evolves beyond texting, includes VR

Tim Nudd

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Tim Nudd