Toronto billboard from a fake funeral home warns of the danger of texting and driving

Text and Drive.

That's the messagesplashed acrossabillboard on the Gardiner Expressway that can't help but catch your attention. At first blush, it looks like it's sponsored by Wathan Funeral Home.

But gotcha! it's actually apublic service announcement, albeit a somber one.

Wathan Funeral Home has a websitethat says it's actually a fake.

"It is a horrible thing for a funeral home to do," a statement written on the faux-funeral home's website."But we're not a funeral home. We're just trying to get Canadians to stop texting and driving."

When the idea came across Angus Tucker's desk, the co-executive director at John St. ad agency saidhe knew it would hit home with drivers.

"It's three wordstext and drive but I think the fact that it doesn't say'Don't'in front of it,which whatyou're so used to seeing ... it makes you look at it and go, 'What's this all about it?"Tucker said.

More than 99,000charged

Distracted driving now outpaces the number of impaired driving offences seen across the city, Toronto police traffic officerConst.Clint Stibbesaid. He said that police have seen more than 99,000 people charged with using a "hand-held communication device" while driving since they began enforcing the new legislation in 2010.

"We have not seen anywhere near the number of individuals arrested or charged for impaired driving," Const. Stibbe said.

Tucker says his agencyis not making any commission on the billboard andthey were given the ad space for free by Cieslok Media.

"We're not making any money on this, we don't want to, we just thought that it was an interesting idea that needed to be seen."