Ben Bass

How do you stop a compulsive, habitual, behavior that people continue to do despite knowing that it is dangerous and wrong? After eight years fighting distracted driving, that was the challenge facing AT&T’s It Can Wait campaign.

So we turned to the power of behavioral science, working with academics to craft three hypotheses for how to change behavior with emotions. Then, we created dozens of social videos based on those hypothesis. We launched the videos on social media, tracking engagement and following up with behavioral surveys, to turning the internet into our own live test.

Once we identified the most effective hypothesis and work — “Faces” — we developed a full campaign around it, working with families and forensic scientists to bring young victims of distracted driving back to life to tell their own incomplete stories. Together with the families, we also created long form documentaries to maximize the emotional weight of the campaign, leaving viewers with a powerful message they would remember when they get

2019 Silver Effie Winner