Pedestrian safety is not sexy. Important? Sure. But the first thing on your mind when following your hookup out of the bar? Nah. Still, West Hollywood wants to be fun and safe, and its pedestrian safety campaign is very squarely aimed at its young, hip, and gay partygoers. Emoji? Grindr? Taylor Swift parody? Check check check.
West Hollywood is famous for its rainbow crosswalk, but the party crowds and thick traffic have been a deadly combination — with 88 car-pedestrian collisions, 3 fatal, since 2011 according to the L.A. Times. West Hollywood has recently unveiled a campaign that involves sexy dudes. For one, there are bus shelters ads with ads featuring hunky, shirtless men that say, “Make eye contact with drivers before you cross the street” and “You might like what you see in the crosswalk.” They have also taken out ads on Grindr.
West Hollywood’s mayor even put out an official press release written in emoji. And because everything needs a viral video now, here’s your pedestrian safety version of “Shake It Off,” now viewed 180,000 times.
Yeah, it’s all pretty cheesy, but it seems to be getting people to pay attention — which is more than you can say for most PSAs.