Don’t Be the Reason There Are More Flowers on the Road

The Road Safety Institution (R.S.I) Panos Milonas is a leading non-profit organisation in Greece, founded on the premise that road accidents is the first cause of deaths in Greece as well as the country is the #3 when it comes to fatal accidents in the European union - which is surprising accounting for our size and population.

For the last 20 years, R.S.I supports and promotes actions advancing road safety, traffic education and initiatives that prevent and reduce road accidents. And that’s significant. To mark 20 years of continuous action and commitment to Road Safety, R.S.I wanted to run a campaign.

Our answer was simple: flowers.

Because flowers are usually about celebrating life. Who would say no to a beautiful bouquet on their birthday or on a special occasion?

Flowers brighten our space and fill our hearts with warmth.

Well, not always.

In Greece as in many other countries, flowers also symbolize a tragic loss on the road. They are being left as a reminder on the roadside where someone lost their life tragically. It doesn’t take more than a short drive throughout the country to come across an endless number of roadside bouquets.

We wanted to take it one step further.

We started off by collaborating with Tassos Vrettos, known for his raw, unfiltered and out-of-the box photographic work. We started driving in Athens and shooting various pictures of flowers on the street.

We then, took the most impactful ones and created a series of dramatized prints, OOH and social assets, that confront viewers with this heartbreaking reality. These visuals bring those silent memorials into full view not to shock, but to remind. A single message blooms behind every location.

For R.S.I the message is clear: we don’t want flowers for our birthday so don’t be the reason more flowers end up on the road.