Australia’s Transport Accident Commission launches ‘Crossroads’ work via Clemenger BBDO
The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in Australia recently launched a striking new campaign ‘Crossroads’, warning motorists against making the wrong choice when getting behind the wheel, with a focus on the busy holiday season.
The campaign, created by Clemenger BBDO, FINCH, and Flint Australia, demonstrates the dangerous, and at times horrific, outcomes drivers may be faced with if they choose to do the wrong thing on our roads.
Holiday periods are busy on Victorian roads, meaning the risk of crashes is higher. Crossroads focuses on two of the major contributors to road trauma – drink driving, which contributes to around 20% of fatalities, and speed, which plays a role in around 30 per cent of road deaths in Victoria.
Launched across TV, VOD, OOH, Print, Social, and Audio the campaign aims to raise awareness of the heightened police presence during the festive season and to demonstrate the many methods they deploy to ensure we all get home safely to our loved ones.
Says TAC Chief Executive Officer, Tracey Slatter: “This impactful campaign is a reminder of how quickly drink-driving or speeding can turn a holiday into tragedy – and the role police play in ensuring we all make it to our destinations safely.”
Directed by Christopher Riggert, and working in close consultation with Victoria Police, Fire Rescue Victoria, Ambulance Victoria, and TAC crash experts, the campaign features two hero films where the driver is transported to an ominous point of decision.
In this ethereal world, we get a glimpse of the driver’s future self and the impact of their choices, not only on themselves, but also on their friends and family.
In film one, viewers see the devastating impact drinking then driving has on a father and his young family after heading home from a family barbecue. Down one road he is pulled over by a patrol car, down another he runs into a booze bus, and down the third we see the worse outcome possible.
In the second film, viewers see the results speeding can have on a young group of friends heading down the coast for the weekend. Down one road they face a police speed gun, down another they’ve been pulled over, and in the third the car is flipped with the driver and his friends hanging upside down, severely injured.
As the scenes play out, audiences see onlookers on the outskirts of frame casting judgement on the driver. A reminder that our decisions on the road don’t only impact those in the car and to think of those we hold dearest before making the choice to get behind the wheel.
Each scene features real world emergency services personnel, who were consulted to ensure the scenarios were representative of the harrowing scenes they’re often faced with on Victoria’s roads, typically as the first responders to bear witness to the outcomes.
Photographed by Andreas Smetana, the stills campaign reconstructs real-world crash scenarios with stark restraint. A devastating head-on collision caused by drink then driving and a vehicle flipped as a result of excessive speed are shown not in the moment of impact, but in the quiet aftermath – grounding the message in recognisable reality and allowing the weight of the decision to speak for itself.
Says Smetana: “A campaign like this doesn’t come around often, and it was an absolute joy to work on the brief. I’ve always loved the challenge of telling a big story in a single frame. Photography has a unique power in that respect, and this project demanded it fully.
“There was a significant amount of pre-production and fine-tuning upfront. We began with detailed storyboards, mapping multiple scenarios – how each moment unfolds, where it sits in frame, and how it reads from every corner. I asked our storyboard artist to deliver everything as layered files, giving us an empty background with every element – vehicles and talent – drawn in multiple sizes, perspectives and positions. The result was a Photoshop file of around 250 layers, allowing us to build a balanced scenario that clearly told the story and could be executed precisely on set. Accuracy was also critical, particularly in depicting police, ambulance and rescue crews in line with real procedures.
“That preparation meant that once on set, execution was precise. The aim was to create large-scale images rich in detail, using massive moonlights to illuminate the entire scene, lighting every car interior, and carefully staging the road. Shooting everything in camera was demanding but incredibly rewarding.”
Additional imagery was created by Guy Shield – evolving the iconic black and white world of TAC messaging to include coloured illustration.
The collaboration between agency, production, emergency services and technical crew was critical in navigating establishing these scenes and delivering imagery that feels grounded, believable and true to real-world first-response environments.
Client: TAC – Transport and Accident Commission
Executive General Manager Community: Jacqui Sampson
Senior Manager Marketing, Sponsorships & Engagement: Ange Hann
Strategic Marketing Lead: Philip Askew
Former Team Manager: Michael Knox
Campaign Manager: Katrina Nedeski
Marketing Coordinator: Emily Skinner
Road Safety: Samantha Buckis
Road Safety: James Plumridge
Road Safety: Dr. David Young
Monash Research: David Logan
Agency: Clemenger BBDO
Film Production: FINCH
Production Company: Flint
Photographer: Andreas Smetana
Executive Producer: Rachel Henderson
Senior Producer: Petra Valent
Production Manager: Maria Cruz
Production Manager: Annie Thiele
Digital Operator: Jeremy Graham
Digital Operator: Alessandro Biasotto
BTS: Arbi Lawang
Location Manager: Tony Saliba
Drone Scout: The Bear Film
1st Assistant Director: Damien Grant
Gaffer: Dan Carr
Lighting Assistant: Brecan Mitchell
Lighting Assistant: Chris Mitchell
Lighting Assistant: Jack Donald-McDowall
Lighting Assistant: Lex Martin
Rigger: David Lynch
Rigger Assistants: Kyle Skals
Rigger Assistants: Murray Dempsey
Spotter: Dylan Hyland
Spotter: Tara Attewell
Art Director: Steve Murray
Art Department Assistant: Johnny Hawkins
Art Department Assistant: Craig Dermody
Unit Manager: Kim Freeman
Unit Assistant: Jasper Sharpe
Safety Officer: Jim Petropoulos
Safety Officer: Nathan James
SFX Supervisor: Arlo Markantonatos – Melbourne Special Effects
SFX Tech: Gareth
SFX Tech: Paul
SFX Tech and Telehandler: Dougal
Max Action Vehicles: Deborah Fowler
On Set Driver Brett Morton
Traffic Controller: Sharon Kite
Traffic Controller: Keira Murray
Traffic Controller: Molly Pragnell
Traffic Controller: Corinne Raditsis
Traffic Controller: Zack Del Papa
Traffic Controller: Prem Chand
Traffic Controller: Elinor Wight
Traffic Controller: Elspeth Clark
Traffic Controller: Keagan Quon
Traffic Controller: Jessica Tandy
Traffic Controller: Cameron McDonnell
Traffic Controller: Jim Vitos
Traffic Controller: Sally Kiss
Traffic Controller: Cagri Sabancilar
Traffic Controller: Cameron Dyer
Traffic Controller: Sarah Willis
Retouching: Adam Hayes
Illustration Production: Jacky Winter
Emergency Services Personnel
A special thanks to all the Emergency Departments: Victorian Police, Fire and Ambulance.
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