Did you know that (at press time) 3,499 potholes have been reported across Canada using an iPhone app? Taking the credit for the tool, which acts as a warning system for drivers, is creative ad agency Taxi in Montreal.

The “Pothole Season” app and accompanying website works like this: when a driver/pedestrian notices a treacherous pothole on a road anywhere in Canada, they can log in and flag down the found ditch using Google Maps and Street View. Municipal authorities are then alerted via email with a request to investigate.

Earlier this week the agency enlisted Morin Relations Publique to orchestrate an elaborate stunt that involved tipping a car into a larger-than-usual-sized pothole.

Dominique Trudeau, executive creative director, Taxi, tells MiC that the app was created by the agency as a “gift to Canadians” and that further advertising was created to make drivers aware of the tool, such as a quarter page ad in La Presse, as well as ads in the Zoom Media network in Toronto and Montreal, planned by Media Experts.

In addition to being able to check the current state of the roads, the app also provides users a roster of global and Canadian stats and suggested routes to help avoid the holes that mark their path.