Rodeo-inspired campaign tells drivers to pull over

Reno Rodeo committee members have parlayed a cowboy into a public service campaign.

The campaign plays upon the eight seconds a bull or bronco rider must sit tight to score. It then asks motorists to sacrifice eight seconds to pull over onto the shoulder at the sound of an emergency vehicle siren.

Marjorie Swiatek, a member of the Reno Rodeo advertising committee, hatched the "Give 'em 8" campaign based on a pet peeve watching drivers fail to pull over during her daily commute on Highway 395.

"If people in the slow lane don't pull over, then people in the fast lane have no place to go," she explains.

It's a problem she's known for years because her father was a firefighter with California Division of Forestry and her husband was with Washoe County Sheriff's Department.

Swiatek enlisted the support of Reno Rodeo President Mark Elston. Next the DynaGraphic Printing employee recruited creatives from local agencies to execute the public service campaign on a pro bono basis.

At Greg Mason Advertising Arts, copywriter Katie Reil produced scripts and directed the shoot. Christopher Blanton Productions shot the video and handled post- production.

Even the models were volunteers those men wearing police, fire fighter and paramedic uniforms are the real thing. As is the cowboy.

Alan Tom, Reno Rodeo medical coordinator, says many people were never taught that drivers must pull over to the right to give the emergency vehicle safe space to pass.

For two years, Tom drove a REMSA ambulance and for 21 years drove other emergency vehicles for the Washoe County Sheriff's Hasty Team, a technical rescue service.

Despite the approach of an emergency vehicle siren, he says 20 percent to 30 percent of drivers don't move out of the way.

"Some people just slam on the brakes and freeze," he says.

All age groups appear equally obtuse, but he adds, "Lately I've seen young kids with their iPods on, and with the music blaring so loud they can't hear us."

Ultra-alert drivers pose a different hazard. Some speedsters tailgate the ambulance or fire truck in an effort to go faster. They think, 'We'll let the siren break through traffic for us.'

"Or they think they can outrun us. We see it all."

REMSA routinely rolls out public service announcements, says Tom, special events manager for the ambulance service. REMSA has partnered with Nevada Highway Patrol in getting the "pull over" message out into public. The timing targets the summer special events season, when traffic gridlock becomes the norm in Reno.

The crowds that turn out for summer's special events mean police and paramedics are always onsite on standby.

However, pro bono work has its limits. No research was conducted to determine the target market for the ads, says Reil. And no program demographics were specified for its airing. No plans were laid to determine the success of the campaign.

The print and video was distributed in a shotgun fashion as a press release to print media and as a public service announcement to area television stations to air with the general rotation of free advertisements, which are aired during unsold time.

The "Give 'em 8" campaign will air until Reno Rodeo kicks off the summer special events season.