Toyota has launched a new road safety Android app named “Safe & Sound”. Created by Saatchi & Saatchi London, this innovative app targets “over-confident” young drivers in an amusing fun manner.
How it works? First, both the young driver and parent must download the app and pair their phones. The parents then give their child permission to drive, by sending them the ‘virtual’ car keys before they hit the road, activating the app’s functionality.
Once the car is on the move (over 15km per hour), the young driver’s smartphone goes into ‘Do not disturb’ mode. Calls, messages and social media notifications are all disabled.
But where the funny and unexpected part comes in is when the app detects driving over the speed limit or the youngster’s smartphone being picked up while the vehicle is in motion, the driver's Spotify playlist is immediately stopped and replaced with parents’ favourite music--of course both users’ Spotify accounts must be linked.
To a teenage driver, the joy of the open road with loud music playing is one of life’s great experiences. Toyota cites research that suggests one in five new drivers has a collision in their first year behind the wheel, with the two main contributors being speeding and smartphones. Therefore, for the automotive brand, the exchange of the young driver's playlist with their parents' music choice could bring them back to reality and act as an added motivation to make them stick to road safety rules.
In this visual explainer, Callum's attempts to impress his girl are quickly shut down by some epic opera and old-school-but-not-in-a-good-way pop. The video ends with this line: "There's nothing teenagers fear more than being seen as uncool."
