A billboard along a Toronto highway encouraging motorists to “Text and drive” is drawing ire from the public, specifically because the ad is apparently for Wathan Funeral Home.
But a visit to the funeral home’s website reveals it’s not an ad for Wathan at all, but an anti-distracted driving ad.
Related: Which provinces are cracking down hardest on distracted drivers?
Cieslok Media donated the billboard space to the Montreal office of John St. ad agency to help spread the message texting and driving will likely kill more people in Ontario this year than drunk driving.
“People see and hear the words ‘Don’t text and drive’ almost every day, but the number of people doing it keeps going up and up,” Mylene Savoie, the managing director of John St. Montreal, told Buzzfeed.
“So we wanted to think of a different way of saying it that would make people think about the real consequences. Which is where ‘Text and drive’ came from.”
A second, digital billboard (pictured above) was also erected in another part of the city. The ads will run for a week.
