Mah-keting

"Make Yah Ma Proud, Wear Yah Seatbelt." This native Bostonian sign flashes all along the sides of the city's highways. I was there this weekend visiting home, and I couldn't help noticing these comic signs with a very important meaning. You might recall the ones from the summer, even, that read, “Use Yah Blinkah” and the other, “Your LOL’s and OMG’s can Wait!” Boston and MassDOT has taken a new approach to reminding people of the law and safe driving. These signs may be witty and capitalize on our “wicked awesome” Boston accents, but they also contain a very important message marketed to all people: focus on the road!

These signs are a very creative and successful marketing strategy done by MassDOT to help enforce highway safety. By jazzing up this public service announcement, drivers get a laugh and actually pay attention to the signs that are flashing at them in big orange lights. The phrases stick in the heads of all drivers, and specifically New Englanders because we are known for our lack of “r’s” and thick accent.

Of course when we think marketing, we don’t think of how public service announcements act as advertisements. But what they are advertising to their viewers is what we, as moral, ethical, and responsible human beings, should do in order to better our world. A lot of the times, public service announcements, like the ones we see on T.V. have an impact on us in a very different sense. Think,

for example, of the non-smoking commercials. I know you’ve seen them, with the people who smoked their packs a day and now have holes in their throats they hold in order to talk. Or think of the ASPCA commercials that show all the emaciated dogs and cats and those faces that they zoom in on to show the sadness in their eyes. These public service announcements are negative, but still have a positive effect on many people because it encourages change.

MassDOT took a risk and did something very different with their marketing of highway safety advertisements. They involved comedy and it has stuck. People read and remember the signs on the side of the road because they are catchy and relevant to the large target market of Bostonians and New Englanders alike. MassDOT is currently taking submissions for any witty safety catch phrases you can think of. They constantly are switching them up to incorporate new laws, so if you happen to be driving through Boston, look for these clever advertisements. Keep Calm and Drive On.