The story of the historic road safety spot that Conaset brings to life with Guido Vecchiola

National holidays It is one of the dates most awaited by Chileans. Celebrations commemorating the First government board They bring friends and family together, but unfortunately it also becomes one of the most complex and tragic dates, with dozens of people dying every year due to drivers who drive under the influence of alcohol and also pedestrians , cyclists or motorcyclists who do not do so. respect the regulations, the rules of road coexistence.

Last year, 38 people died in road accidents during the national holiday period, 12 more than in 2021, according to Carabineros data. This figure is the one that should be reduced this year and for this the National Road Safety Commission (Conaset) has announced a campaign whose axis is to raise awareness among the population to be careful and responsible while driving.

But this is not a campaign like any other. This year, taking advantage of Conaset’s 30th anniversary, one of the most memorable road safety spots in our country has been relaunched almost in its entirety, at least for those who have already had their license for four decades.

In the presence of Camila Vallejo Minister General Secretariat of the Government; Karina Munoz executive secretary of Conaset; Jorge Daza Minister(S) of Transport and Telecommunications; Eduardo Vergara undersecretary for crime prevention and Marcela Gonzalez general head of the Transit Zone, Highways and Road Safety of the Carabineros, the spot featuring Guido Vecchiola the same actor from the original commercial directed by Silvio Caiozzi.

The advertisement, which attempts to faithfully recreate the 1992 work, was filmed in the same area, with similar vehicles, with people disturbing the car, with distractions and overtaking on a bend that caused the fatal accident . Of course, it is no longer a Suzuki Vitara that appears, but an MG3.

But this spot hides a tragic background, full of emotion, due to a personal problem of Guido Vecchiola himself, with whom we spoke after the presentation of the new Conaset spot.

“We do not want more deaths from road accidents, because they can be avoided,” commented Minister Camila Vallejo during the meeting, adding that “our institutions in this area have evolved and improved significantly . For 30 years, we have managed to significantly reduce the rate of these accidents thanks to the systematic efforts of the State to monitor, take measures, establish sanctions and carry out prevention campaigns. However, despite this reduction, the number of deaths resulting from these accidents remains approximately the same; The rate has decreased relative to the number of vehicles, but people are still dying at a significant rate and that is something that concerns us. We must continue to improve public policies, but above all the awareness of our citizens. »

In the same sense, the executive secretary of Conaset, Karina Muñoz, declared that “road accidents are absolutely avoidable; not accidental events, that’s why this year’s campaign looks to the past so that we realize what we have not yet learned, and we bring to the present the impact that this Carabineros spot generated in 1992 to shake us up again and let us be aware that the decisions we make corner by corner can have an impact on our lives and those of others.

The advertising spot mentioned by the executive secretary of Conaset seeks to tackle precisely the problem of the number of deaths and for this it takes up the story of one of the most memorable advertising spots.

In 1992, Guido Vecchiola was chosen in a casting call to star in the aforementioned Carabineros de Chile spot.

Directed by Silvio Caiozzi, a director who a year later would bring to life the equally famous Firestone spot (“If I Walk, I Don’t Talk”), it was a big deal for the actor to accept the proposal.

The reason he was hesitant was a road accident in which Vecchiola had already been involved. A flat tire caused him to lose control on a dirt road, with the unfortunate misfortune that a friend who was traveling with him died instantly.

A few years ago, the actor recalled this moment in an interview on “True Lies”, where he gave details about this event, emphasizing how painful it had been and how his deceased friend’s mother was the person who had allowed him to accept the fact and not carry the burden of guilt that did not belong to him.

At that time, Vecchiola emphasized that this woman, despite the enormous loss, told him that he should not think about publicizing, but that he had to do it, that there was no another person more capable of everything that had happened.

On this subject, the actor told us: “I closed my story in 92, when I did this advertisement, I closed my sorrow. Silvio (Caiozzi) explained the emotional part to me very well, where this character takes a journey at the end with the girl and they look at each other and that connected with me and that’s why I decided to do it. So when they offer it to me again, the slogan is very good: “30 years have passed and we still learn nothing.” » That was the original sentence, although they removed the “nothing”, which was not done. leave me very happy.

Speaking of the original ad, what was it trying to communicate?

Silvio tried to show in this ad that potential drivers were in this car. There was one who was drinking, there was another who was distracted, at the time it was for the newspaper, now for the cell phone, and perhaps my character was the simplest of all, the one who makes a bad decision, who overtakes when there is no need to overtake. . And It Appeals to Feelings is an advertisement that appeals to the emotion and guilt that remains in the abuser after being with the victim’s family and cannot be changed or erased from the heart or head.

Have you had to replicate any work as an actor?

No, I never needed to repeat shot after shot, and moreover in the same place, to be there again. We tried to make it as similar as possible, the only thing that couldn’t be done was leave me at 19 now that I’m almost 50. So now it was another journey, very different, but it was also a tribute to this moment which for me was very important and very pleasant to do. It was very healing to have done that.

How did you experience the almost complete reconstruction of the advertisement?

It was very crazy to see everything the same again, it was Back to the Future, looking back and seeing everything the same way was very strange, but to have this possibility of traveling again which we rarely have in life and message is what. It pushed me to start again. It was the fifth time I was asked to do this commercial, it always made me very curious and that’s why I remembered Silvio, I think that with him we left something that remained in the collective memory for years. It’s been 30 years and people are still talking about that ad.

You say you were approached several times to shoot this commercial again. What has changed now to accept?

I think because it appeals to emotion. This is what I discussed the most when we did it now. It was impossible to recreate the same emotion, at 50 we cry and we are moved differently and what I try to communicate is emotion. Unlike advertisements which are fanciful, where we see a big accident, with blood, with the guy about to die, here we try to transmit and appeal to touch feelings, that’s where it has meaning to people, when they take you to something that’s as simple as the confrontation between the victim and the aggressor, and where you say “I screwed up” and it changed my life. And in the end we find ourselves alone, the friends go home, those who are in the jeep go out and the one who remains alone is the one who wonders day after day why I went ahead, why I didn’t done that, why I better not take an Uber. And that’s what I’m talking about, constant regret.

You have heard of a well-known position on the subject…

I had a very similar experience, and the only thing that cured it was that mine was an accident and not an accident (preventable action). I wasn’t driving under the influence of alcohol, but a tire blew, and even so, I still wonder why instead of braking, as you tend to do when you have a flat tire, I didn’t accelerate and tried to stabilize the car. . . That’s my big question and I can’t get it out of my head and that’s what I’m trying to communicate here.

Finally, a message for the population during the National Day celebrations.

I hope that for this 18th and for all dates, people remember that when getting into a car to drive, whoever gets behind the wheel is responsible for who is on top and who is on the outside.