Distracted driving kills. The statistic is universal. The behaviour it describes is equally universal: a driver glancing down at a phone, a notification appearing on a screen, an app opening at 80 kilometres per hour. KIA Colombia and Proximity BBDO chose not to communicate the danger through crash statistics, dramatic footage, or guilt. They built a print campaign around the gesture itself.
The Idea
“No la abras” translates directly as “Don’t open it.” The campaign, published in Colombia in November 2023, consists of six print executions, each one showing a smartphone screen mid-notification, or an app interface at the moment of opening, framed from the driver’s perspective. The visual is the exact thing the campaign is asking you not to look at. The medium becomes the message.
The campaign’s own description, written by the creative team at Proximity BBDO, captures the brief with precision: “To cause or go through an accident, all it takes is a split second. That’s why we decided to launch a campaign where we ask our drivers not to try opening an app while they’re behind the wheel, because we want their eyes on the road. It’s a simple yet powerful idea created to promote and encourage responsible driving in Colombia.”
The Creative Logic
Every print execution in the campaign shows a phone screen from the driver’s point of view, which is precisely the angle from which a driver would see it if they looked down. The irony is structural. A print advertisement placed in a magazine or on a billboard is seen by a stationary audience, by definition. But the image it shows is the last image a driver should see. By reproducing that screen view in a safe, static context, the campaign makes the danger legible without staging it.
The tagline “Don’t open it” is not directed at the print reader. It is directed at the version of that reader who is sitting behind a wheel and hearing a notification sound. The print ad is addressed to the driver they will later become.
The Distracted Driving Context in Colombia
Colombia’s road safety statistics give the campaign its urgency. The country consistently ranks among those with the highest road accident fatality rates in Latin America. Mobile phone use while driving is documented as a primary contributing factor in accident data across urban centres, with Bogotá and Medellín seeing disproportionately high rates of distraction-related incidents relative to their traffic volumes.
KIA Colombia’s decision to make responsible driving the subject of a brand campaign rather than simply a product campaign reflects an approach that has become increasingly common among automotive brands seeking to build trust rather than simply demonstrate vehicle features. A car brand that tells you not to use your phone while driving is making a claim about its values that a fuel efficiency statistic cannot replicate.
The Team
The campaign was created by Proximity BBDO Colombia. Creative direction was led by Gina Lee as DGC, alongside creative directors Oscar Ramirez and Manuel Rojas. Copywriting was by Daniela Cruz, art direction by Manuel Arrieta, with account management by Laura Chaparro and post-production handled by Los Manuels.
Campaign Name: No la abras / Don’t Open It
Agency Name: Proximity BBDO, Colombia
Brand Name: KIA Colombia
Location: Colombia (print campaign, November 2023)
