LA Dodgers and Mercury Insurance Join Forces for 'Don't Text and Drive' Campaign

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (April 18, 2012) – The Los Angeles Dodgers and Mercury Insurance Group have partnered to produce a “Don’t Text and Drive” public service announcement starring all-star outfielder Andre Ethier and broadcaster Charley Steiner. Set to begin running April 23 on Fox Sports Prime Ticket and on the Dodger Stadium Jumbotron, the 30-second piece features Ethier driving home after a game when he receives a text. He then hears a voice in his head (Steiner) announcing various next steps.

Mercury launched its Don’t Text and Drive initiative in July 2011 at the Mercury Insurance Open women’s pro tennis tournament in La Costa. Thousands of tennis fans signed a pledge to never text while driving and tournament champ Agnieska Radwanska filmed a PSA. The campaign continued with LA Kings superstar Anze Kopitar when he recorded a PSA on the subject that aired recently in Southern California, and now the Dodgers are stepping to the plate.

“Texting while driving has reached epidemic levels in the U.S.,” says Ethier. “I’ll bet people don’t know that if you text while driving, you are six times more likely to get into an accident than driving while intoxicated. Despite this, 86 percent of all teenagers admit they sometimes text from behind the wheel. 

“Like everybody else, I do a lot of texting every day. And it can be difficult to ignore the alert when you’re driving, but there’s no message that is so important that I’m going to risk my life and the safety of others.”

To see the PSA, created and produced by Culver City, Calif., ad agency Kovel/Fuller, go to www.facebook.com/mercuryinsurance.

ABOUT MERCURY INSURANCE (www.mercuryinsurance.com)

Mercury Insurance (MCY) is a multiple-line insurance organization offering predominantly personal automobile and homeowners insurance through a network of independent agents in California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, Arizona, New York, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Since 1962, Mercury has specialized in offering quality insurance at affordable prices – core values that still distinguish Mercury in today’s marketplace.