Thoughts
New Zealand Transport Agency
Issue 41 | December 2016
Agency
Clemenger BBDO
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director Brigid Alkema Creative Director Emily Beautrais Creative Frances Cooke Millicent Malcolm
Production Team
Agency Producer Marty Gray Production Company Ruskin Films Director Nathan Price Producer Claris Harvey Director of Photography Ginny Loans Editor Tim Mauger Online Editor Stefan Corey Sound Design Paul Stent Original Music Lee Prebble &
Other Credits
Group Account Director Linda Major Account Director Bethany Omeri Principal Scientist (NZTA) Paul Graham Principal Advisor (NZTA) Rachel Prince
Date
February 2016
Background
In New Zealand, research showed that one in four deceased drivers had cannabis in their systems and three of the four who died caused the crash that killed them.
Still, 58% of users did not think being stoned affected their driving ability. They believed they could handle the drug and the car.
They argued that marijuana was harmless. It made them better drivers. They were more chilled and, besides, they compensated by driving slowly. But research said they could not hold focus on the road and their minds eventually started to wander.
Idea
Stoned drivers compensated by driving more carefully, but eventually their minds wandered.
One research participant said, "Your focus holds for the trip until the last little bit...and then you're only thinking of waffles..."
No-one could accept that the government understood what it was like to drive stoned so the idea was to partner with some pretty credible people to do it for them. Comedians. A film was created and twenty different comedians provided the wandering thoughts.
The film showed two guys driving home after an afternoon smoking weed. Like any mates who were stoned together, they were off in their own little worlds. As the driver's mind began to wander from the road, viewers heard his humorous inner thoughts. The passenger's mind also wandered into random, entertaining territories. But as the driver's focus waned, the inevitable happened and the car crashed.
Every time the audience saw the film, they heard a different comedian voicing the wandering thoughts of each character.
Results
Still too early for any meaningful numbers. However, early tracking showed that 63% of those connected reported back that their confidence in driving stoned was unsettled and their takeout from the films was "don't drive drugged."
Our Thoughts
This is one of only a handful of examples of programmatic technology inspiring great creative. So far. Ideas like this will help creatives elsewhere begin to work out what they can do to create sequential campaigns.
The way this works is through remarketing. If you're a young kiwi in the target audience for the message, you'd get to see it as a pre-roll ad before a favourite YouTube video. Then you'd get it served to you again. But hold on. The soundtrack is different. After three or four ads have been served to you and each one funnier than the one before, you start to look out for more.
And that's how creative + programmatic = more effective advertising. It's when your target audience actively wants to see the next in the series.