Pimp Our Ads (pimpourads.com)
Road Traffic Authority of NSW
Issue 5 | July 2008
Agency
Lavender*
Creative Team
Simon Lee, Marco Eychenne - Creative Directors;Chris Perry - Art Director ;Anna Karena - Copywriter
Production Team
Laila Takesh - Production; Claire van Heynigen - Producer
Other Credits
Rebecca James, Zoe Boalch, Abbey Turnbull - Account Management
Date
March - April 2007
Background
Each year a significant number of Australians aged between 17 and 25 are killed or permanently injured because of speeding, or driving when drunk or on drugs. The challenge was to convey an effective road safety message in an engaging way that would cut-through to an audience that is traditionally unreceptive to 'serious' topics such as speeding.
Idea
Lavender* decided to take a fresh, innovative approach to ensure the serious road safety message would cut through to young Australian drivers. Using the proposition, 'Stop your mates from killing themselves and other people', they challenged their Generation Y target audience to create their own road safety posters via an interactive website - www.pimpourads.com. The winning entrant stood the chance of winning a Toyota Yaris, with runners up winning iPods and Macbook Pros. Stickers on blank pages in street press created intrigue and drove people to the site. Live reads on street radio station FBI boosted street cred. Online banners supported the launch and sticker and postcard packs were sent direct to design schools. All components integrated with the Pimp Our Ads anti-establishment feel. A mechanism to stimulate viral spread was included in the website.
Results
A total of 7,900 ads were created on the website, with 40% of visitors creating an ad. 12% of unique entrants helped to virally spread the campaign to a further 1,213 people by requesting one or more 'pimp-offs' with a mate. The campaign achieved a cost per experience of AUS$9, outperforming the forecast CPE by 24%. In addition to this, it generated substantial PR and raised awareness with the wider public of the dangers of irresponsible driving.
Target Audience
Learner and newly-licensed drivers (L1, L2 and P-Platers) in NSW aged 17 to 25-years-old, numbering 504,000 people. These people are classed as Generation Y. They are stimulus junkies and are notoriously hard to engage with traditional advertising.
Our Thoughts
User-generated content has become suddenly fashionable and in a number of cases it looks like client and agency surrendering to their audiences. But not here. Getting the core target group actively involved in (a) creating the message and (b) passing it on is an inventive way of helping to keep them alive.