What do your tyres and football stars have in common?

Well, baldness could be the answer in this, er, slick campaign from Continental Tyres Australia. The German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company put together a Bald Stars team made up of past and present AFL legends Barry Hall, Nathan Jones, and Bachar Houli, and current players including Collingwood’s Steele Sidebottom and St Kilda’s Zak Jones and Paddy Ryder. The ad makes the road safety point that while baldness may represent the good kind of 'unstoppable' on the field, unstoppable is not good when it comes to tyres. Continental says that "1-in-3 Australians are driving on bald and unsafe tyres". According to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) website, there were 1,195 road crash deaths in Australia in 2019; speeding and drunk driving top the list of causes, with vehicle defects at number six in that list. What do you think of this drive to build awareness around the issue? The ad deploys the traditional - some would say offensive - habit of calling a bald person 'Baldie' to striking effect? Tasteless? Best road safety campaign ever?

Keywords: Continental Tyres Bald Stars, road safety, bald tyres, funny ads, Australian bald football stars, TBWA\Melbourne