Auckland Transport tackles annual road death toll with launch of road safety campaign via Ogilvy

Auckland Transport has teamed up with Ogilvy to release ’64’, a road safety awareness campaign that draws attention to the significant increase Auckland has seen in its annual road death toll and the associated link between speed with deaths and serious injuries.

The multi-channel campaign, features a special build adshel in downtown Auckland featuring 64 sets of keys, to represent the 64 people who will never drive a car again. This was followed by targeted radio spots, Facebook ads, and bus wraps demonstrating that 64 is an entire busload of people.

The campaign culminated in an eye-opening cinema stunt to highlight the idea of “64 people who will never go to the movies again”. This was done by projecting an unsuspecting audience back at themselves on the cinema screen; key road safety statistics then appeared in tandem with targeted lighting, singling out 64 people in the audience who then unitedly stood in silence, before exiting the cinema.

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Every week, at least one person dies on Auckland roads. Since 2014, there has been a 70% increase in people being injured or dying, as a result of speeding in Auckland.

This reached its peak in 2017, with 64 road deaths across the year in Auckland alone. A staggering number for any one city or town in New Zealand to have.

“The idea came from the insight that, sadly, when you hear about one person dying on Auckland roads, you don’t realise how big of a problem it is. But if all those people died on the same day, it would be recognised as a national disaster”, says Regan Grafton, Ogilvy Chief Creative Officer.

“To put that into perspective, when one person gets up and leaves the theatre, you don’t bat an eyelid, but when 64 people do, you really pay attention.”

Adds Mark Sharman, Auckland Transport, Marketing Services Manager: “Many drivers have become desensitised to gruesome ads. Scaremongering and reprimanding doesn’t work, so we needed a fresh way to get people to slow down. Ogilvy approached this brief with a unique proposition that has been highly effective and seamlessly executed.”

Chief Creative Officer: Regan Grafton

Media: Helen Breckon

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