AT&T's "It can Wait" campaign to eradicate texting while driving has been honored as the year's best public service campaign across the industry.
Distracted driving has received worldwide attention and called for severe laws. Texting while driving has been identified as one of the biggest reason behind distracted driving, so AT&T started an awareness campaign to encourage drivers to put their phones aside while driving. The campaign, "It Can Wait", managed to attract millions of people's attention and its popularity won AT&T an award for the best campaign of the year.
The honor of the year's best campaign was given to AT&T's It Can Wait at Public Relations Society of America's annual Silver Anvil ceremony, which recognizes the industry's top campaigns across a wide range of categories and sectors. AT&T won the Best of Silver Anvil award and also the Silver Anvil in the "Public Service-Business" category, according to the company's press release Friday.
AT&T, through the "It Can Wait program", aims to reduce the number of accidents caused due to the act. The campaign also shows texting while driving is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. AT&T drew a massive audience, including teens and adults and also garnered support from more than 1,500 organizations.
"The Silver Anvils are the most established public relations awards in our industry, and many consider it the most prestigious," Dave Senay, president and CEO of FleishmanHillard, said in a statement. "So helping a client hoist the Best of Silver Anvil makes me so proud of what AT&T and the Fleishman Hillard team have accomplished - teams from all across the country working together seamlessly on a program of such national significance. Our sights are always set on producing award-winning work, and these wins on behalf of AT&T are a testament to the great work I witness every day."
In addition to the Best of Silver Anvil award, AT&T also bagged Silver Anvil for its "Reigniting AT&T's Engagement With the LGBT Community" program.
Through It Can Wait program, AT&T aims to eliminate texting while driving and reduce the number of accidents caused due to the act. The campaign also shows texting while driving is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. AT&T drew a massive audience, including teens and adults, towards the program and also garnered support from more than 1,500 organizations.
AT&T's battle against texting while driving has won a favorable outcome. Nearly 5 million pledges against texting while driving have been made on the campaign's site, which is up from 2.5 million in September last year.
"Texting while driving claims too many lives, and raising awareness of this completely preventable tragedy is key to saving them," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, said last year. "We've seen success before through our seatbelts and our drunk driving campaigns, and I both applaud the It Can Wait campaign for its efforts to raise awareness and encourage everyone to make a commitment on Drive 4 Pledges Day to drive focused and distraction-free."
