• by Aaron Baar , June 5, 2015

Five years into it, the war against texting and driving — a.k.a. the Thumb Wars — is still going strong. 

Sprint and social change organization DoSomething.org are once again looking to mobilize young consumers to take up thumbs against texting and driving, distributing their recognizable Thumb Socks (yellow covers that go on people’s thumbs as a reminder not to text and drive) as physical reminders to prevent phone use while behind the wheel. 

“It’s one of our most successful campaigns,” Dave DeLuca, DoSomething’s director of campaigns, tells Marketing Daily. “We try not to change things [too much] from year to year.”

Young people who sign up at ThumbWars.org can receive two pairs of Thumb Socks, one for their own personal use and one for a friend or family member who texts and drives. Building on the social engagement of previous years, in which teens took pictures of themselves wearing the socks, Sprint and DoSomething are encouraging teens to dress up as their favorite character — superhero, fictional figure, whatever — wearing the Thumb Socks. 

Five years into the effort (and its companion Backseat Adviser program, which gives teens tools to address texting and driving right in the moment), the two organizations have learned that teens are most responsive when they are asked to do something specific, in a positive and fun manner, DeLuca says. 

“We felt a fear-[based technique] wasn’t going going to work with teens. We thought if we used fun and love and things like that, we would get better results,” he says. “If you make it fun to engage with, people will want to be a part of it.”

While AT&T has adjusted its anti-texting “It Can Wait” message to include other activities such as checking e-mail, logging on social networks and other activities, the Thumb Wars initiative will remain focused on texting and driving, DeLuca says. 

“Texting and driving is one issue [teens] are very passionate about addressing,” DeLuca says, although he adds DoSomething is looking into ideas to mobilize against other distracted driving behaviors.