Wait to send — Vodacom
Vodacom announced in a press statement on Friday, 12 December 2014, that it had launched an ad campaign to raise awareness around the dangers of texting while driving, called “W8_2send”.
Part of the campaign encourages South Africans to pledge to never text while driving.
“We wanted to find a way to engage as well as educate South Africans around the dangers of texting and driving. Which is why we came up with the W8_2send online game that simulates what can happen when drivers are distracted by their cellphones on the road,” said Vodacom’s head of corporate affairs, Maya Makanjee.
The game is available at www.w82send.co.za, and Vodacom said it challenges players to manoeuvre an animated car by tilting their smartphones or using the arrow keys on their keyboard. At the same time they will have to type the answers to various questions.
Once played, the game then prompts players to take the pledge to “W8_2send” by sharing the following message with their friends and family via Facebook or Twitter:
I’ve just promised to wait to send. Using your phone whilst driving is dangerous. Take the pledge http://w82send.co.za #w8_2send
“We originally launched W8_2send to our employees earlier this year and from there decided to extend it to our customers,” said Makanjee. “We are also currently engaging with other industry players as well as government to look at ways in which we can partner to ensure that the W8_2send message reaches as many South Africans as possible.”
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