In 1979 a mass media campaign was mounted in New South Wales (NSW) to promote the use of child restraints. The impetus for the campaign was threefold. A law introduced in 1977, making the use of available restraints mandatory for children under eight, had increased wearing rates only temporarily. Motivational research had identified important barriers to child restraint use, barriers that might be overcome by educational material designed to both inform and change attitudes. It was clear that persuading parents to restrain their children was quite a different task from persuading adults to restrain themselves. Finally, a device called the "booster cushion" had been developed to overcome many of the problems faced by parents restraining their children in harnesses or adult seat belts.

The campaign was effective in raising restraint usage rates from 40% of children under eight in approved devices before, to 55% two months after the campaign ended. A different campaign conducted in Victoria failed to produce a significant increase in child restraint use, suggesting that favourable response to mass media campaigns is not simply an "Australian" reaction, but depends upon the nature of the campaign.

This paper describes the campaign package and the development of the communication strategy. In a field notoriously resistant to change through mass media communication, the NSW experience offers guidelines for other communities wishing to use persuasive techniques to increase child restraint use.