CONCEPT: HIDDEN DANGER

How do you get people to take a recall seriously?
Freak ‘em out.

Puerto Rico has a vividly superstitious culture that is full of IMAGINATIVE lore. and Effective creative is always grounded in targeted consumer insight and a crystal clear message.

oozing with creepy urban mythology – the hidden danger campaign played off the kind of storytelling Puerto Rico is known for with A CAUTIONARY twist. it’s no wonder our horror movie visuals and brazen copy spoke 1,000 words.

CAMPAIGN Headline:
¿Hay un asesino en tu auto?
Is there a killer in your car?

Creating a Monster

Working with photographer and retoucher Scott Harben and his LA-based prop makers, we personified the hidden danger lurking inside the defective airbags. ghoulish eye balls, vicious teeth, talons, and other BODY PARTS were custom-fabricated out of latex AND SHOT inside the interior of a recalled toyota MODEL vehicle.

Roll Out & Execution

where to reach people is every bit as important as how. For the greatest impact, this campaign needed to reach people while they were in their cars. Ads were strategically selected and placed so that our target audience would experience them while driving. The media buy included radio, OOH billboards, videos on gas station TVs, and digital display ads.

To track campaign performance, we set up a custom URL with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration team.

Results

Usually the measure of a campaign’s success is the number of views, clicks or conversions. This time our goal was to save lives.

Within the first three months, millions of drivers saw the message and thousands responded. Since the repair is proven to be 100% effective, we’re confident to say it made a difference.

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the campaign won a 2020 GolD SABRE Award and was recognized as one of the TOP 40 campaigns of THE YEAR at the Global SABRE Awards.