SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — On September 23rd, a character from a popular comic-strip was run over by a driver who was texting.
Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151003/273673
Since then, followers have flooded lawmaker emails demanding a new law requiring all mobile service companies to invest 10% of its annual advertising budget on ads or efforts aimed at educating the public on the dangers of texting while driving.
It seems to be working.
Lawmakers are feeling the heat as the popular character known as Pepito remains hospitalized and no one is sure when he’ll wake up. Some say it’s when the bill is passed.
It just so happened that on that particular day, Pepito was on his way to the mailbox to send a letter pleading legislators to pass this new law. Needless to say, the letter never made it to its destination. Subsequent strips show Pepito in a hospital bed and the letter still on the ground next to the mailbox. The creators published the contents of Pepito’s letter and asked its fans to forward the letter to lawmakers.
The results have been staggering. Hundreds of letters were sent and the local news media is covering the event as if it really happened to raise awareness to this problem.
The comic-strip, Pepito, centers on a rambunctious seven year old and is known for its social critique. The strip is written by its creators Harold Jessurun and Anibal Quinones, and is published daily in Primera Hora, a local newspaper in Puerto Rico, and has over 64,000 followers on Facebook.
