Esurance Stages Car Crash in Chicago to Emphasize Don’t Catch and Drive

Esurance, an Allstate company, caused a bit of a scene. The home and auto insurer staged a fender bender to encourage safe driving, an important message to address the recent series of car accidents caused by people playing mobile games while driving.

The scene on Chicago’s popular Magnificent Mile featured a car’s run-in with a hot dog cart, all caused by a fictional distracted driver and Esurance mobile game-inspired creature that causes fender benders, the Fenderbendix. As visitors walked past the jarring scene, they discovered that nobody was hurt. And they learned an important message about safe driving, smart people #DontCatchAndDrive.

“We’re always looking for unexpected, relatable ways to connect with people. Staging this scene allowed us to capture people’s attention and send an important message about safe driving,” said Alan Gellman, chief marketing officer at Esurance. “We understand the appeal of exciting modern technology like augmented reality gaming, but we want people to be smart about how they use it.”

Signage around the scene in Pioneer Court, an iconic Michigan Avenue location near the Tribune and Wrigley buildings, encouraged people to share their experience using #DontCatchAndDrive. A Snapchat geo-filter was also created to draw even more attention to the safe driving message.

The staged fender bender is part a larger digital campaign to make sure drivers stay safe on the road.

The insurer launched a new campaign, “Don’t Catch and Drive,” last week to remind drivers of the dangers of playing mobile games while behind the wheel.