Comments on: stop.think: Share the Road

By: Treadly and Me

Treadly and Me — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 13:20:48 +0000

All I recall is that we've had one of them fancy "Share the Road" campaigns. Can't remember a thing about it, although the logo looks vaguely familiar. Sad, isn't it?

As for local council engineers—is it always a size thing with those guys? If it ain't a big, hefty engineered solution, it's not even worth grunting at. Or so it would seem.

By: cfsmtb

cfsmtb — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 12:11:01 +0000

Recall the "Share the Road" campaign from VicRoads circa 2004? Damn near sank without a trace, although most of the stuff is still online. Unfortunately the nifty wallet-sized "Cyclists & Drivers FAQ" isn't there anymore.

Laws, rules and due process aside for a mo, how can more road user compliance actually occur when the bog standard stuff like common courtesy is waning? Dare mention hippy stuff such as community development around traffic engineers & they're liable to break out in a nasty prickly rash...

By: Treadly and Me

Treadly and Me — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 10:32:51 +0000

Chris really makes a good point and it's one that I didn't mention: what is the bloody point of running a campaign like this for two measly weeks? For instance, it appears that the Stuart O'Grady ad ran from 17 to 31 July 2005.

You know which brands belong to "Oh what a feeling!" and "Zoom-zoom", don't you? The brand recognition is so strong that it's actually difficult to keep the products out of your head when you hear these catch-cries.

"Oh what a feeling!" has been on high-rotation for a couple of deacades now (I kid you not) and Mazda's "Zoom-Zoom" theme dates back to about 1998. And it seems like only yesterday, doesn't it? Long-lasting repetition of the same message, in different variations, over and over again…

In contrast, the chances are dismally small of making a 30 second community service announcement stick in people's minds when it's only run for two weeks. If driver education is to be conducted in this way, then perhaps Dr Clapton is right after all.

By: Chris L

Chris L — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 03:47:10 +0000

Looks remarkably similar to the one they aired here in Queensland back in 2000. I can't say it made a lot of difference at the time, a 30-second slot on the telly isn't really all that effective unless a LOT of money is spent on repeats. Given the amount of other advertising that surrounds it, I think most viewers just blocked it out.

Personally, I think a few fines and/or prison sentences for people who break the law would be far more effective.

By: Treadly and Me

Treadly and Me — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 02:07:22 +0000

I don't think the problem lies with the road rules themselves (see my comment on this topic in another entry) and as Crowlie says planning initiatives that show no initiative are also a problem.

But most importantly, "share the road" is a message that doesn't seem to become dated. Let's hope someday—soon—that we won't need it anymore.