Category: Finance
Media: Film
Brand: Direct Line Group
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Geo: United Kingdom
Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, London, UK
Creative Directors: Will John, Franki Goodwin
Creative Team: Will Milner, Tom Cleeland
Planners: Sam Wise, James Mitchell
Account Handlers: Alice Flanagan, Paul McHugh, Theo Moran
Integrated Head of Film: Zoe Bell
Production Company: Inside Job
Director: Ross Cairns
Editor: Alex Pickering
Film Producers: Julia Frost, Elliot Dollie
Tech Producer: Hollie Forsyth
Tech Development: Umbrellium
Head of Design: Bruno Di Lucca
Design Lead: Nathan Crawford
Design Producer: Barbara Gaiarim
Published: October 2017
Synopsis:
Direct Line and Saatchi & Saatchi London have today revealed an innovative prototype pedestrian crossing aimed at reducing traffic and pedestrian accidents. With 7,000 annual road traffic accidents taking place at crossings due to a lack of visibility for cars, cyclists and pedestrians, this new campaign is a world-first and aims to tackle this pertinent problem.
The campaign forms the second initiative in a series of brand activations that demonstrate Direct Line’s high performance approach to fixing problems in the real world. As technology continues to progress, the brand is positioning itself at the very forefront of the insurance category with practical, problem solving solutions for the future.
Fleetlights was the first brand initiative executed last year, and was created to solve the safety issues that darkness causes across communities in the UK. It was awarded a Bronze and Gold Cannes Lions this year and also a Bronze at Creative Circle awards. Due to its high level of success, Fleetlights has garnered the interest of Caister Volunteer Lifeboat service to see how the pioneering drone technology can be employed to save lives at sea.
The prototype ‘Smart Crossing’ is a responsive road crossing that differentiates between vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists automatically. It uses computer vision technology to “see” exactly what’s happening around it and an LED road surface to adapt its markings and signals dynamically in real-time to keep its users safe, without manual input.
Addressing the current limitations of pedestrian crossings, the ‘Smart Crossing’, which spans 6m x 22m, will:
Widen to accommodate large groups, which could help in reducing the number of crowd related incidents outside schools or sporting events
Adapt to pedestrians who take unnecessary risks or those in emergency situations, such as a child chasing a ball into the path of oncoming traffic
Address the issue of high sided vehicles (such as HGVs and buses) which can obscure the view of the pedestrian who is crossing by lighting a 1m radius around pedestrians walking across the road. This will ensure they are not ‘hidden’ by these types of vehicles which can often cause a blind spot for other road users
Use colours to grab the attention of pedestrians engrossed in their mobile phones, urging them to ‘look up’ and focus on crossing the road safely and to make life safer for the ‘head down’ generation
The technology was developed using research from the Transport Research Laboratory and in partnership with urban designers, Umbrellium. It has also received positive feedback from road safety charity, Brake and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety.
This is about bringing pedestrian crossings up-to-speed with the rest of a modern-day city. Pedestrian crossings as we know them were made for a different age, when the human relationship with the city was completely different.
Our prototype is waterproof, can hold the weight of vehicles and can recognise the difference between pedestrians, vehicles and cyclists – it’s ready to change the future of how we cross the road.”
By harnessing their ‘high performance’ approach, Direct Line looked at all types of pedestrian crossings with the aim of re-inventing them with a smarter (and safer) solution. We take crossings for granted, placing huge amounts of confidence in them because of their very purpose of keeping us safe. However, the limitations of current crossings have enabled accidents to occur – many of which could be preventable.
The digitally-led campaign launches today with a “20 teaser and will be followed by a longer form storytelling spot and a “40 campaign film exclusively for cinemas later in October.