adam&eveDDB Calls in Space Invaders for Highways England Campaign
adam&eveDDB has created a new car bumper sticker featuring Space Invaders as part of a public safety campaign for Highways England.
The integrated campaign, which is the first by adam&eveDDB for Highways England, has been developed because of statistics showing one in eight of all casualties are caused by people driving too closely to the vehicle in front, with more than 100 people killed or seriously injured in a year.
It uses the classic arcade game’s graphics, characters and sound effects, first released by TAITO, a Japanese game manufacturer, 40 years ago in 1978. It carries the tagline: ‘Don’t be a Space Invader. Stay safe, stay back’.
The campaign, which also spans outdoor, radio and online film, highlights the dangers and impact of tailgating – driving too close to the car in front – with the aim of reducing accidents and making driving less stressful for motorists.
The bumper sticker features Space Invaders’ iconic pixelated enemy alien character to symbolise a car that is tailgating. The bumper sticker acts as a warning to the car behind to stay back a safe distance.
In the online film a driver is shown being tailgated by the Space Invaders enemy alien.
The integrated campaign breaks on Monday September 17th and will run for 6 weeks.
Alison Holliday, Head of Marketing & Events at Highways England, said: “We know that if we can get drivers to leave more space between them and the car in front we can significantly cut the number of serious and fatal injuries on the road. By bringing this safety issue to life in a memorable way, adam&eveDDB has created a campaign that will, we are optimistic, nudge behaviour in a positive direction.”
Mike Stern, Managing Partner at adam&eveDDB, said: ‘Once we hit on the idea of using Space Invaders we knew it was the perfect fit. It not only works well in bringing the driving safety idea to life, but we know that millions and millions of people love the game and will enjoy being reminded of it when it wherever they see or hear it, instead of tuning out and missing this important message.”
