Launch Site

“One has to admire how this campaign goes directly to young people and gets them thinking about the potential consequences of their actions, without preaching to them.” —juror Eric Karjaluoto

“A powerful message delivered with theatrical and technological magic to touch people at their most unexpected, most pensive moments. Brilliant concept, beautiful execution and a cleverly simple use of hardware.” —juror Tali Krakowsky

Overview: Road accidents are the leading cause of death among 16- through 24-year-olds. Nevertheless, many young drivers continue to take risks, and others are reluctant to speak up when in the passenger seat. To sensitize young people to the danger, lg2 put them face-to-face with ghosts of people who have died in car accidents. In restrooms at 39 different colleges, lg2 installed sink units that included a glasses-free 3-D, or autostereoscopic, screen behind a one-way mirror. When movement was detected, a 3-D ghost appeared as a hologram in the mirror. The ghosts explained that they would still be alive if they had only spoken up against a driver’s risky behavior at the wheel.

• Three 3-D teenage ghosts were filmed, two males and one female, each one representing a different risk at the wheel: speeding, texting and drinking.
• lg2 collaborated with a company specializing in holography and with a 3-D production house, and the installation was built over six months by a team of ten.
• More than 10,000 young people experienced the installation, the case video was viewed more than 230,000 times on YouTube and the project was mentioned 125 times in the media.

Comments by lg2:
Is the audience you were targeting a particularly difficult one to reach? “Ghosts was one of several communications initiatives by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, and connecting with young people in the name of a government institution is always a tall order. The target’s response, however, surpassed our expectations. Testimonials from young people themselves demonstrated the campaign’s ability to forcefully connect. All of them said they were moved, and some even shaken, by the experience. The novelty of the installation grabbed their attention, and the realness of the ghosts’ stories made them think hard about the consequences of risky driving.”

Did you meet with any out-of-the-ordinary obstacles during development? “It was the first time that we had worked with the autostereoscopic technology, and the learning curve was steep. During production, we realized that shooting real people in glasses-free 3-D is much more constraining than working with 3-D in post-production. We also discovered that the one-way mirror split the RGB colors of some moving images into a prism, so we had to adopt a sober color scheme.” Did you learn anything new during the process? “Leading-edge technology was key to the project’s success. Autostereoscopy is still little known, and its use generated a lot of interest. In addition to learning the importance of including a test period when working with a new technology, we also learned to be measured in our enthusiasm: new technologies open up so many possibilities that it is easy to go too far. To remain real and effective, keep it simple.”