Eyes On The Road
Volkswagen
Issue 33 | December 2014
Agency
OgilvyOne Beijing
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Graham Fink Executive Creative Director Doug Schiff Creative Directors Kama Yu Daqing Wang Art Directors MinSheng Zhang Zhou Xufeng Morris Ku Copywriters Song Lei Doug Schiff Producers Morris Ku Rita Yang 3D Design Lead Guo Yu 3D Designers Sun Zhang Wan Xing Lin Wanqiu
Production Team
Production Company Answermark Limited Director Eggtart Chow Art Director Andy Chow Producer Avis Or Assistant Director Ng Kai Ho Gloria Cheung Sam Yip DOP Alfred Pong Jovi Lee Alan Yip Sound Effect and Mixing KK Chau Production Assistant Irene Ng Editor Eggtart Chow Post Production Supervisor Jovi Lee
Date
April 2014
Background
Like many car brands, VW in China was aware of the dangers of motorists sending and receiving texts while driving but wanted to communicate its own safety message in a way that was consistent with the fresh and irreverent nature of the brand.
Idea
Most safety messages were soon forgotten by the youthful target audience VW wanted to reach. Cinema was chosen as the medium to reach them in as memorable a way as possible.
An unsuspecting audience came into the theatre. After the lights went down, a film began. From a driver's point of view, the audience took on the role of the driver moving along a scenic road. After a little time, long enough for the audience to wonder what it was all about, a location- based broadcaster in the projector booth delivered a SMS message to every mobile phone in the theatre.
As just about every single person in the audience looked down at their phones, the car on-screen ran off the road and crashed noisily into a steel pole.
On screen came the message: Mobile use is now the leading cause of death behind the wheel. A reminder to keep your eyes on the road."
Results
Within a month, the video had been viewed over 25 million times earning Volkswagen PR to the value of US $4.5m.
Our Thoughts
Well, Ogilvy must have described the results of this campaign rather more fulsomely at the China Effie Awards than they have here because in late October it won them four Golds, taking the agency to Number One in the country for the most awards won.
This sort of ‘Candid Camera’ approach is an increasingly popular way of getting YouTube views. But if it is also demonstrably helping reduce the death- toll on roads then that is worth knowing.