Dancing Traffic Lights
smart
Issue 33 | December 2014
Agency
BBDO Germany
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Wolfgang Schneider Creative Managing Director Jan Harbeck Creative Directors Lukas Liske Daniel Schweinzer Copywriter/Art Director Lukas Liske Daniel Schweinzer
Production Team
Director Marten Persiel Production Company BigFish Filmproduktion GmbH in Co-Production with Minivegas
Other Credits
Account Management Jens Fauth Anne Hohmann Mike Kannowski Agency Producer Alexander Geier
Date
July 2014
Background
Nobody likes to wait. That made traffic lights the most dangerous spots for pedestrians in the city. As one of the pioneers of urban mobility, smart wanted to find a clever way to turn these sensitive locations into safer places.
Idea
The 'Dancing Traffic Light' made Installation, Online waiting at pedestrian crossings more Country fun when the lights were red.
The moment the walking man image turned from green to red, music began to play and the little figure began to dance.
Instead of getting irritated and trying to cross the street despite the traffic, pedestrians now stopped to watch and to listen.
Four different sets of traffic lights in Lisbon were equipped with speakers and a special LED display system, which was connected to a nearby booth. Pedestrians could go into the booth and dance, their movements caught by Microsoft Kinekt technology and transmitted to the traffic lights in real time.
The experiment was part of the smart FOR-campaign, based on the insight that being against something was easy but being FOR something could turn the world and its cities into better places.
Results
The dancing traffic lights did not just become city attractions, they had the intended effect. Compared to the same period before the installation, 81% more people waited more safely when the light was red than waited before.
Our Thoughts
When I first started in advertising 35 years ago, we were trapped by media.
We could only write ads to a fixed size or length. Press, radio, TV, posters and mail. That was it. Now everything is media and ‘outdoor’ can be any kind of event or action you can imagine. I just love the notion of a pedestrian crossing becoming an advertising medium, especially one that is trying to promote a sense of balance between the motorist and the pedestrian. That cities are here to be shared seems a very smart and friendly message for a smart car to put out there.