We’ve all witnessed it before. The repeat offenders of driving whilst eating, sipping, talking, texting, you name it. While not all of these activities are necessarily illegal (yet), they are all dangerous as they prove to distract drivers, causing thousands upon thousands of accidents each year. It was recently reported that driving while texting is nearly 6 times more dangerous than driving while drunk! Although it may be hard to admit, I’m sure many of us are guilty on more than one count of distracted-driving. In fact, I have several coffee-addict friends that will adamantly argue that automatic cars were specifically invented for the coffee-drinking commuters…wait, what?!?
Earlier this month, MINI released a new campaign in Mexico that targets the women guilty of driving while applying makeup, another common and dangerous distraction that many of us have disapprovingly witnessed, I’m sure. According to the ad, an estimated 22% of accidents are caused by female drivers in Mexico, resulting in 1,273 lipstick fatalities each year.
Custom MINI airbags were secretly installed in soap dispensers across a number of ladies bathrooms throughout Mexico, as a not-so-subtle reminder that ‘there is a place for everything…makeup or drive’. The video below shows the surprised reactions of women who unsuspectingly apply makeup before the heart-stopping deployment of the secret airbag scares them six ways to Sunday.
Hmmm, I wonder if MINI has something else up their sleeve for the male drivers who, we can only assume, cause the other 78% of accidents in Mexico?
Meg Goodrich
Digital Account Executive