Captain Crosswalk, a pirate character created by ITD used in messaging to remind motorists to not use their phone while driving, won the department an honorable mention in the Graphic Design-Photography category at TransComm 2016.Two of the Idaho Transportation Department’s (ITD) safe driving campaigns have received TransComm 2016 awards. This is the third year in a row the agency has been recognized by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) communications subcommittee.
AASHTO recognized the Idaho group in the Skills Contest portion of the event with a first place award for the “Drive Safe. Belts On.” campaign video ad. ITD staffers Dave Tuttle and Mark Hall, in collaborations with the Office of Highway Safety, produced the video entirely in-house using on-location student volunteers at the College of Idaho.
The video targets young drivers with the message to “buckle up” before starting a vehicle. ITD says it chose this demographic due to statistical evidence that habitual seat belt use at an early age “likely” carries through a lifetime.
The ad was broadcast during shows, sporting events and news programs across the state and cable. The message also was used in Internet and mobile phone ads, as well as billboards throughout the state.
The agency also won an Honorable Mention in the Graphic Design-Photography category for a photo of the Captain Crosswalk character used in messaging to remind motorists to not use their phone while driving.
“People waving signs along roadways are fairly common, but a masked ‘pirate’ encouraging motorists to put their phones down was a surprising morning sight for Boise drivers passing the Idaho Transportation Department Headquarters building May 18,” the agency wrote in their application for the award. “The safety of the public is one of the core pillars of the ITD mission, so this masked man’s promotion of highway-safety efforts was a welcome sight.”
ITD posted the Captain Crosswalk photo to its Twitter and Facebook accounts, resulting in 6,425 views and 32 shares of retweets after a week.
