SINGAPORE TRAFFIC POLICE | GLASSES | 1993
The moment four glasses lined up, the crash had already happened / Singapore Traffic Police "GLASSES"
Four beer glasses float over the road. Then a crash. That's it, that's the whole ad. But these thirty seconds would go on to be recreated all around the world. Singapore, 1993. To stop drunk driving, this ad chose to make people think, not to shock them.
The problem
Australia had a history of powerful road safety ads that used a shocking, gory approach. Francis Wee, head of copy and art director at Saatchi Singapore, was briefed by the Singapore government on an anti-drink/driving campaign. But the client didn't want that kind of shock tactic — they wanted a more cerebral approach. There were cultural sensitivities specific to Singapore to consider. How do you confront the problem of drunk driving? Not with blood and screaming, but with thought.
The insight
Many concepts were rejected, and luckily there was plenty of time, so the team kept exploring different routes. Eventually, their ideas became simpler and less expected, until they surprised themselves with the glasses concept. This is the key part. The simpler it gets, the more unexpected it becomes. Instead of "showing" drunk driving, it makes you "recall" it. The metaphor of glasses floating into the driver's view expresses the very distortion of judgment that comes with being drunk. That's what a cerebral approach looks like.
The idea
The ad is shot from the point of view of a driver on the highway. Glasses of beer with foam on them float up onto the road. Four of them in total. Then the car turns left and crashes into a bus. On a red screen, the message appears: "EACH DRINK YOU HAVE BEFORE... YOUR JUDGEMENT. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE." The growing number of glasses visually, metaphorically shows judgment being clouded. The moment of the crash itself is shown plainly — no screaming, no blood. But an observant viewer understands: each one of those glasses had already been stealing away the driver's judgment, one step at a time.
What happened
"GLASSES" became a very popular campaign and was later recreated in many countries. The original version was shot in Hong Kong but used in Singapore. Versions were also made in Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), Australia (Transport Accident Commission), and China (WHO). After winning Gold in 1993, it went on to become a reference point for road safety campaigns around the world. A cerebral approach crossed every border.
Afterthought
Watching this ad, I think about the power of subtraction. Instead of hitting you with shock, it pierces you with simplicity. Just four glasses lining up can tell the whole inevitable story of a crash. And that's because it's the core that was left after being rejected again and again, stripped down again and again. The client asked for something cerebral, the creatives took their time exploring, and what came out the other end was simple. That process is incredibly precious. And thirty years later, it's still an idea people talk about all over the world. That's what this job is really about.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 1993
