The Electric Factory Aims to Curb Stoned Driving with Marijuana-Made OOH ‘Potsters’

Global innovation group The Electric Factory continues to showcase its ingenuity with a clever, aptly titled outdoor campaign dubbed “Potsters”.

Poster text reads (top left) “Don’t hesitate, push the breaks”, (top right) “Take more time before you leave”, and (center) “In case of rain, stop sooner”

Developed in the wake of its native Uruguay’s legalization of marijuana in 2013, The Electric Factory’s Potsters project leverages and embraces the legislation while confronting some of its potential consequences. The out-of-home effort aims to impede the act of driving while high through message-bearing posters and billboards made directly from the drug itself.

“The concept comes from a logical observation,” says The Electric Factory Co-Founder/Chief Creative Officer Juan Ciapessoni. “There’s no way marijuana is really good for anyone who’s driving. Since the possibility of making paper out of this material existed, we reasoned that if posters made out of pot gave you advice about safer driving, it was probably the most ideal way in which marijuana can actually be beneficial to someone while behind the wheel.”

Working in collaboration with client AECU (Uruguay’s Association of Cannabis Studies), and outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux, The Electric Factory spent months on the messaging and production of its set of Potsters, which were printed using the silkscreen technique of serigraphy to protect the fragile material. According to the Creative Directors Federico Cibils and Gustavo Etchandy the delicate production process posed just one of several challenges for the campaign. “Because it’s a project that opens a fairly new category in Uruguay, the main challenge was the ‘novelty barrier’,” they say. “Luckily, we counted the client and JCDecaux as allies in the initiative, as both understood the message’s reach and pertinence during a time like the holidays and festive seasons when people go out and have fun. If we can be of help to make people more responsible throughout these periods, then our task is accomplished.”

With the initial plans to disseminate Potsters billboards across Montevideo’s main avenues and transit hubs, where there’s the most opportunity to impact and reach as many people as possible, Ciapessoni and his team bring their creativity to the outdoor space with a campaign they hope better addresses the important issue of responsible driving in the subsequent years following Uruguay’s marijuana legalization “Since 2013, the state government has taken action by buying equipment and controlling operations on the streets,” explains Andres Guarino , CIO of the company. “The reality, though, is that these actions aren’t enough. While marijuana isn’t taken lightly in respect to responsibility behind the wheel, safety concerns aren’t as prevalent as they are with, for example, alcohol, for which there have been years and years of campaigns. So it was imperative to us, once we detected the problem and felt that communication might be best to help solve this, to do something about it.”

Downloads:

Credits:

Chief Creative Director: Juan Ciapessoni
Creative Directors: Federico Cibils & Gustavo Etchandy
Art Director: Javier Gómez & Juan Diego Vispo
Producer: Milena Mariño
Film Production: The Electric Factory
Director: Piter Moreira
Executive Director: Federico Masini

About The Electric Factory:

From platforms to interactive experiences, whether experimental or for clients, The Electric Factory has assumed the role of evangelist by producing results that exceed industry standards. Energy courses through us. Sparked by our curiosity and imagination, and channeled through hard work and optimism, we focus this energy into our lives and our work. We are electric.