Russian dash cam videos have shown that the world’s largest country also has its craziest drivers. These videos, which Russians use to protect themselves from racketeers who are looking to fraudulently collect legal damages, often receive millions of views on YouTube. Now, a Russian company has put a brilliant spin on the dash cam phenomenon. BBDO Russia, the Moscow-based branch of international ad agency BBDO, has created a video that shows a traffic accident–but only if you fast-forward through it.
The video, titled “MOST TERRIBLE FATAL CAR CRASH EVER,” is dressed up to look like a typical dash cam video and uploaded on the channel of a man named “Lobach Lobachev.” Viewers who watch the ten-minute video without fast-forwarding will only see a car driving down nondescript roads. As Adweek explains, impatient viewers who drag their cursors along the timeline who will see a head-on collision with an oncoming truck, a message that reads “Don’t Rush,” and the logo of Intouch, the insurance group for whom BBDO Russia created the video.
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If you’re curious to know how BBDO Russia pulled off this normal speed/fast-forward dichotomy, play the video again and pay close attention to the screen. At the individual time-stamps from which YouTube fetches thumbnail images, the ad agency inserted single-frame shots of the accident. Put them together, and it essentially forms the YouTube version of a flip book.
The result is an ingenious campaign that is well-positioned to serve as a pre-roll ad on YouTube. Plus, as far as we can tell, its the first time the dash cam format has ever been used as branded copy. What’s next? Will a health insurance company sneak a message into a “fail” video? Make it happen, BBDO.
