THUMBS CAN SAVE LIVES – Declare a Thumb War on Texting and Driving
Texting and driving-related car crashes is one of the leading causes of American teen deaths—and it’s getting worse.
Deaths among 16-17-year old drivers increased almost 20% last year.
DoSomething.org’s THUMB WARS campaign, launching May 29th, urges teens to take action and educate their friends on the dangers of texting and driving. While most campaigns using scare tactics have backfired, non-profit DoSomething.org—in partnership with Toyota and Sprint Foundation—is taking a different approach: the fun and social way. It’s proven to work.
Teens can sign up for two pairs of thumb socks (one for them, one for a friend!) on DoSomething.org/Thumbwars. After taking pictures of their friends and themselves wearing the socks, they submit the photos to an online gallery. The best photos will be turned into shareable memes that will be pushed out via social media.
The thumb socks empower teens to speak up.
DoSomething.org’s NAOMI HIRABAYASHI, discussed:
The current statistics of texting and driving and why it’s so important for Americans to take action now
How the 2012 Thumb Wars campaign positively impacted driving habits among teens
Where and how teens can get their hands on their own thumb socks
Why teens are more likely to speak out to friends and family after receiving thumb socks
About NAOMI HIRABAYASHI: Naomi is the Chief Marketing Officer at DoSomething.org making campaigns like THUMB WARS possible. Prior to DoSomething.org, she was Associate Director at Attention, one of the first social media marketing agencies where she offered strategic counsel for campaigns such as International Women’s Day for Avon, Breast Cancer Awareness for Estée Lauder, and TOMS Shoes. A popular speaker, Naomi has appeared on network TV news programs, at the United Nations discussing Media/Social Media and most recently at the 24 Hours of Reality event on a panel with former Vice President Al Gore.
