Death Revealer

Background

The Village is a magazine that focuses on Moscow city life, its infrastructure and transport systems.

Traffic accidents are all too common in the city, taking away thousands of lives unnecessarily each year.

The problem is that when an accident happens, the traces of it are quickly cleaned away. Only a few passers-by actually notice the fact cars have been utterly smashed and people killed.

The Death revealer idea was intended to show Muscovites the real picture of the carnage on their streets.

Idea

Death Revealer was an iPhone app Death that enabled people to become instantly aware of all road traffic incidents that had ever happened thanks to GPS, Google Maps and augmented reality.

To release the App, an ambient campaign was created, using the classic white outlines painted on the streets, with red QR code.

Once downloaded, point the iPhone at any street, side street or crossroads and if there had even been an accident there, then the appropriate symbols – if there were injuries or fatalities – and photographs would appear.

A simple click on the spot of the accident provides a description complete with photographs.

Results

The campaign is ongoing, so it is difficult to say about results.

Our Thoughts

There is a rather ghoulish attraction to this app and I can imagine plenty of people downloading to see the alter-ego of their city revealed. Whether it actually would change behaviour is moot. But it makes The Village look a caring-sharing kind of publication and one that’s technologically sussed, not bad attributes to have.

What I love about apps like this is how they reveal hidden truths.