A SIRIOUS SAFETY MESSAGE

TitleA SIRIOUS SAFETY MESSAGE
BrandTOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE
Product/ServiceTOYOTA SAFETY
Category B02. Use of Mobile Devices
Entrant Company SAATCHI & SAATCHI Stockholm, SWEDEN
Advertising Agency SAATCHI & SAATCHI Stockholm, SWEDEN
Advertising Agency 2 SAATCHI & SAATCHI Copenhagen, DENMARK
Media Agency MAXUS GLOBAL Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production Company B-REEL Stockholm, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Jason Mendes Saatchi/Saatchi Nordic ECD
Gustav Egerstedt Saatchi/Saatchi ECD
Regner Lotz Saatchi/Saatchi Creative Director
Rene Schultz Saatchi/Saatchi Creative
Casper Christensen Saatchi/Saatchi Creative
Annette Pilgaard Saatchi/Saatchi Business Director
Charlotta Tibbelin Saatchi/Saatchi Account Manager
Diana Wellendorf Saatchi/Saatchi Account Manager
Patrik Gyllström B-reel Director/Editor
Rikard Åström B-reel Executive Producer
Cathrin Holmqvist B-reel Producer
Jacob Norremark Saatchi/Saatchi Assistant Copywriter
Stefan Arnoldus Saatchi/Saatchi Assistant Art Director

Brief Explanation

As part of their commitment to road safety, Toyota wanted to make a statement and tackle the increasing problem of mobile phone use while driving. Fact is, 25% percent of road accidents around the world are caused by improper mobile phone use. Governments, journalists and ad agencies all have tried for years to discourage drivers from using the phone but a ping of a txt message or push notification while in the car is too tempting for some - so instead of reminding people to stop using their phones in cars, we by passed them and went straight to their phone.

Results and Effectiveness

On social media people said they would be pissed if their phone was turned off without being asked and questioned, if turning the phone back on would cause an accident - while many others (among them, car crash victims) then responded stating that they completely missed the point and supported the idea pointing out it wasn't a problem with the ad but in fact the people who continuously ignore messages like this and use their phones dangerously. 15 million media impressions. 1.1 million Euro in Earned Media. Budget of only 250 Euro. Not a single cent spent on seeding.

Creative Execution

The internal media team implemented the creative idea by simply buying 2 radio spots in rush hour traffic to capture the widest number of drivers. This was co-ordinated in two countries (Denmark and Sweden) to run at the same time. And the media agency also mentioned, to gain further reach it would be wise to do a case video. Then they released the film on Youtube and sent it to a dozen industry publications hoping they would pick up on the story and that it would then spread further. Which it did. More than we ever expected.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Target audience: anyone driving their car and using their phone in the wrong way. Android and Apple recently introduced a feature where you can talk to your phone without touching it. In Apple’s case, when you activate “Hey Siri” in your settings, and have your phone plugged in (which most drivers do when they get into the car) you can talk to the phone by simply saying “Hey Siri”. So we got a radio ad to talk to and interact with mobile phones in cars and turn phones to Airplane Mode. By selecting air time in rush hour traffic to target the highest number of drivers.