AI-Generated Porsche Drive Safe Campaign Is an Actual Work of Art
This Porsche drive safe campaign caused quite the stir recently, but its message is an important one, regardless.
Most of us are quite familiar with the various “drive safe” campaigns that have existed over the years, pretty much of all which designed to leave us with a lasting impression. That impression is that driving under the influence or engaging in reckless behavior on the roadway is never a good idea, and oftentimes, can result in tragedy. Many campaigns over the years have used wrecked cars as a sober reminder of this, leaning a bit on shock value to convey an important message. That’s also the case with this very interesting Porsche drive safe campaign, even if it isn’t exactly what one would call real.
Instead, artist Cole Kessel used Midjourney and the generative AI fill in Photoshop to create this rather stunning Porsche drive safe art installation, which is depicted at the Louvre in France. The results are so realistic, in fact, that more than a few people believed this was a real art installation, even though Kessel always points out when his posts are created by artificial intelligence of some sort.
The images of the crashed Porsche models here are in fact real, and were simply placed in the Louvre virtually, which obviously adds to the realism – and it serves a pretty important purpose as well. “The purpose of this art installation is to create shock value and serve as a stark reminder for people to drive safely,” Kessel wrote. “It takes a certain boldness to display crashed vehicles, but it’s important to note that either the cars used are replicas, or they belong to owners who were unharmed and gave their consent. This installation also evokes the sight of modern F1 wrecks, where despite the severity of the crashes, drivers often walk away unscathed. Ultimately, the message is clear: none of us are invincible, and we all need to stay vigilant and cooperative when on the road.”
Unfortunately, a lot of people didn’t take this message to heart and instead criticized this particular piece of art – in some ways, rather harshly. But as Kessel notes, drive safe campaigns often do lean on shock value to drive a message home – and in this case, it’s a pretty important one.
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“The key message would be to always remember your own limitations and pay close attention to your actions and surroundings, Kessel said. “Work with and not against everyone, despite how idiotic people can be. But also realize when you’re the idiot yourself. Yes, I too lose my patience more often than I probably want to admit, with this post equally functioning as a reminder to myself that maybe it’s better to be late than to never arrive at all. If this post leads to just one single person approaching their next drive more carefully, it was worth it. I hope everyone gets home safely and is fortunate enough to spend the day with someone they love. And if you don’t, give them a call.”
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