No Douche Bag
Västtrafik
Issue 57 | December 2020
Agency
Forsman & Bodenfors
Creative Team
Art Director Lars Jansson Copywriter Pontus Caresten Graphic designer Christoffer Persson
Production Team
Film and photography Cutback Studios, Petter Berg Film editing Assar Wallenius
Other Credits
Account director Greger Andersson Account manager Helen Johansson PR Robert Johnson, Maja Bredberg
Date
September 2020
Background
During Covid-19 many people (doctors, teachers etc) continued to use public transport. Västtrafik needed to remind passengers of the importance of social distancing. Closing seats off permanently could simply make buses, trams and trains more crowded.
Idea
Suddenly what used to be inconsiderate behaviour became the answer.
By handing out 1,000 free No Douche bags, travellers could be reminded to keep their distance without confrontation.
Results
The 1,000 bags were taken within an hour.
The campaign was featured in almost all the major news channels plus hundreds of blogs and across social media.
Our Thoughts
The Swedish government’s response to Covid-19 has been criticized for being lax. The country has seen 590 deaths per million, equal to the USA’s 591 per million, but not equal to Denmark’s 108 per million or Norway’s 50 per million. The hands-off approach has meant that individuals need to look out for themselves. That’s where this bag is so valuable, in allowing those who feel at risk to do what they can to protect themselves. These were given away.
An entrepreneur in London could sell hundreds of thousands of these! I’d buy one for starters.