Richmond, Va. (June 22, 2021) – Today, Project Yellow Light announced the winners of its annual Project Yellow Light scholarship competition, which involves students creating a TV, radio or billboard PSA to educate their peers about the dangers of distracted driving, specifically the dangers of messaging while driving. The winning PSAs will be showcased on June 28 on a digital billboard in New York City’s Times Square, in space donated by Clear Channel Outdoor.

Project Yellow Light was established by the family of Hunter Garner to honor his memory after his death in a car crash at age 16.

Since 2011, Project Yellow Light has partnered with the Ad Council to turn the winning submissions into PSAs that receive national exposure through TV stations nationwide, iHeartMedia radio stations, and Clear Channel Outdoor’s digital displays. Supporting partners include AT&T’s It Can Wait, Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO), Elephant Insurance, iHeartMedia, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) and WKRN-TV Nashville.

“Working to spread the critical message about the dangers of distracted driving is so important,” says Project Yellow Light founder Julie Gardner. “Our student scholarship winners use their voices and creativity to impact young drivers and help save lives. The support of our partners, including Elephant Insurance, allows us to keep funding scholarships and reach more people about the dangers of distracted driving.”
Elephant has sponsored Project Yellow Light for three years, and in that time, the company has contributed $65k towards scholarships and the annual competition – all with the goal to educate teens and adults on safe driving habits.

The contest received 2,069 submissions this year. Entries were received from students representing all fifty states and Washington, D.C. The 2021 scholarship prizes were awarded to:

  • It’s Joust Not Worth It (video, high school): Morgan Taylor (Scottsdale, AZ)
  • No One’s Good at That (video, college): Angie Benitez-Garcia (Hollywood, FL)
  • Leave Them Unread (billboard design, high school): Mia Allen (St. Louis, MO)
  • Phone Rest (billboard design, college): Diana Gonzalez Mejia (Houston, TX)
  • Are You a Chameleon (radio, high school): Nathan Ong (Annandale, VA)
  • Just Don’t (radio, college): Katie Saylor (Boonsboro, MD)

A number of advertising industry executives and artists lent their time to judging the entries. This year’s panel included recording artist and songwriter Aloe Blacc; renowned filmmaker and social activist Kweku Mandela; dentsu international global CEO Wendy Clark; Wordsworth + Booth president Tony Mennuto; co-chairman and partner of Goodby Silverstein & Partners Jeff Goodby; and representatives from the Martin Agency, Pereira O’Dell and Project Yellow Light partners the Ad Council, AT&T’s It Can Wait, Clear Channel Outdoor, Elephant Insurance and iHeartMedia.

For more information on Elephant Insurance, visit www.elephant.com.

# # #

About Elephant Insurance

Elephant is a consumer-focused car insurance company headquartered in Richmond, VA with the aim to put its customers at the center of all efforts. Elephant provides auto insurance policies directly to consumers in Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Tennessee, and Texas. Elephant Insurance is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Admiral Group, plc., one of the U.K.’s leading insurers with a presence in eight countries and over 6 million customers worldwide. More information is available at www.elephant.com.

Article last updated on August 7th, 2023 at 3:07 pm