CRASHED CASES

TitleCRASHED CASES
BrandVOLKSWAGEN
Product/ServiceCRASHED CASES
Category B01. Corporate Image, Communication & Reputation Management
Entrant NORD DDB Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation NORD DDB Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production HOUSE AGENCY Stockholm, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Andreas Dahlqvist NORD DDB Stockholm Executive Creative Director
Anton Bolin NORD DDB Stockholm Art Director
Svante Pårup NORD DDB Stockholm Copywriter
Hogir Aslan NORD DDB Stockholm Account Director
Maja Björklén NORD DDB Stockholm Account Director
Susanne Johansson NORD DDB Stockholm PR Director
Marc Östlund NORD DDB Stockholm Creative Designer
Simon Higby NORD DDB Stockholm Creative Director
Magnus Wretblad NORD DDB Stockholm Business Director
Hanna Kronberg NORD DDB Stockholm Voice Over
Luca Monterosso HOUSE Agency Director / Editor
Edward Lever HOUSE Agency Editor / Grade / Online
Tomas Wall HOUSE Agency Producer / Post Producer
Marcus Dineen Freelance Director of Photography
Andreas Kleerup Freelance Music Producer

Why is this work relevant for PR?

Texting while driving is the number one driving distraction for many people, and it’s illegal in most parts of the world. This February, Sweden was one of the last countries to ban it. Despite that, the number of distraction-related crashes hasn’t decreased on Swedish roads. We created the campaign when the topic of the new ban was highly discussed in Sweden. 600+ news stories after one week say it all.

Background

Texting while driving is one of the most common distractions, and it’s illegal in most parts of the world. This February, Sweden was one of the last countries to ban it. Despite that, the number of distraction-related crashes hasn’t decreased on Swedish roads. The brief was to create a topical campaign that communicates around the ban, and spread awareness about safety in traffic.

Describe the creative idea

To make people think twice before picking up their phones in traffic, Volkswagen introduced Crashed Cases. 153 phone cases made out of crumpled metal from car wrecks caused by texting and driving. One phone case for each car crash since the implementation of the ban. Every case is unique and numbered, and sold at crashedcases.com. All profits go to Trafikskadefonden, an organisation which help rehabilitate victims of car crashes.

Describe the strategy

Volkswagen is one of the safest cars on the road and wants to make Swedish roads safer. It´s a fact that driving while texting is one of the reasons behind the majority of car accidents. 1st of February 2018, a ban against phones in traffic was implemented. Despite that, the number of accidents hasn´t decreased. We all know that texting and driving are dangerous, but we still do it. So what if we could get closer to the moment when people texted in traffic? What if we could remind them of the dangers every time they picked up their phone? With that insight, Volkswagen created phone cases made of the metal from crashed cars. A phone case that not only can save your phone, also life! To make it even more powerful 153 unique cases were created - one for each serious accident during the first month of the law.

Describe the execution

We launched the campaign shortly after the ban was implemented (The ban was implemented in February 2018, the campaign was launched April 2018). It was launched with a film on social media, with a press release and a website where people could buy the product. The campaign was spread in owned channels with the call to action “do you or someone you know someone need a reminder?”. The press release was distributed broadly within in sectors such as Auto, technique, design, marketing and regular news magazines. We offered interviews with a victim from an accident were the driver texted by driving and with Trafikskadefonden. People bought the 153 cases for themselves or their beloved ones. Those who didn’t buy it tagged friends and family in the social media posts.

List the results

We launched the campaign shortly after the ban was implemented with a press release and a website where people could buy the product. The press release was distributed broadly within in sectors such as Auto, technique, design, marketing, and regular news magazines. We offered interviews with a victim from an accident were the driver texted by driving and with Trafikskadefonden. People bought the 153 cases for themselves or their beloved ones. Those who didn’t buy it tagged friends and family in the social media posts. Over 600 publications worldwide. 95% of the articles mentioned Volkswagen Sweden as an innovative brand taking a stand for car safety. Almost everyone published also the pictures and the video. Magazines that wrote about it was tier 1 such as Top gear, Design taxi, Yanko design, Yahoo, Car scoop, Teknikens värld, Gizmondo, IDG, Fast company