Egg Films’ Jason Fialkov directed First Kiss, a heartbreaking love story for the Western Cape Government. The spot was recently featured in leading international trade magazine Shots. If you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading and press play before we spoil the twist in the tale.

First Kiss tells the story of a young couple at a party, who spend their night trying to kiss but keep being interrupted. The final interruption turns a straightforward love story into a shocking road safety ad.

The Safely Home campaign by Y&R Cape Town has sparked heated discussions across traditional media and social networks about both the importance of wearing your seatbelt and the power of shock advertising.

Y&R created a locally-relevant story inspired by an Irish strategy, which was credited as having brought about a 100% increase in backseat seatbelt wearing and 50% increase in front-seat wearing rates in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The spot was shot in studio and on location in Woodstock and the Bo-Kaap. For the final crash scene, Jason worked closely with DOP Willie Nel, stunt coordinator Gideon van Schoor, and the post-production combination of Upstairs Ludus and Wicked Pixels, with Gravitron’s Kobus Verhoef building a gimbal rig to tip the car 90 degrees in both directions to keep the cast’s movements realistic and capture the sense of loss of gravity.

See more of Jason’s commercials here.

What people are saying:

“Does more than poke at a nerve. It rips out the insulating cable and leaves you uncomfortable, distraught, and even sad. But I can’t stop thinking about it…” Suhana Gordhan, Business Day

“This road safety ad will definitely get you to buckle up.” Jacaranda FM

Big ups to @jasonfialkov and the lovely, hardworking and committed peeps from @eggfilmstv https://t.co/AHHd3f9k7D

— graham lang (@langgraham) March 29, 2016

@mikesharman @YoungRubicamSA @eggfilmstv WOW WOW WOW! Beautiful and strong. Very impactful.

— elisma roets (@elismaroets) March 24, 2016

The first kiss ad. . . Graphic but on point, such a wake up call for South Africans.

— _aLondy? (@Londyheavens) March 25, 2016

Just watched the #FirstKiss buckel up ad. Sometimes we have to go all the way to make a point. It hits right in the heart @Radio702 @gwalax

— MINTIRHO YA VULAVULA (@KhetaniN) March 23, 2016

“Caught this advert at the cinema last week. It REALLY clobbered me.” Khanyo O. Mjamba on Facebook

“Well done. I love this ad and I love the message it sends out to our young folks. I lost a friend when I was about the age of the kids in this add. He was not wearing a seatbelt. I would rather remember the impact an add like this had on me than the impact of losing a friend in such a tragic way. Buckle peeps; it saves lives!!!” Zaakiyah Baker on Facebook