M&C Saatchi's Poetic Message to London Road Ragers

Transport for London and M&C Saatchi have unveiled a new, influential campaign entitled ‘Share the Road’, which acknowledges the challenges of using London’s busy streets. The campaign calls for people to change their mind-set from a competitive to a considerate one, and aims to help them rethink their attitudes towards each other.

M&C Saatchi has created an integrated campaign which will initially run across TV, Online, VOD, Social and Mobile platforms, stimulating a shared conversation amongst Londoners.

The evocative TV ad, shot in black and white, focuses on a Londoner asking rhetorically why we get so angry with each other when different forms of transport and people clash. As the video unfolds, and the melancholic music begins to play, the film cuts to different scenes of conflict on the streets; from the anger and frustration of a cyclist and motorcyclist, to the simmering rage between a car driver and a group of youths. The video illustrates the tension real Londoners experience.

The scenes show a vivid, authentic London - gritty, edgy, yet at the same time possessing a real beauty.  As these situations roll out the narrator advises viewers to “breathe in, breath out, the moment has gone, it’s time to move on,” showcasing the need for London travellers to be more considerate towards one another.

Chris Macleod, Marketing Director at Transport for London, said: “Since the range and type of road users has grown over the years, we wanted to engage all of London’s travellers to make them stop and think. This campaign, with its different elements, should resonate personally with all individual road users and encourage them to ‘Share the Road’ not to compete for it.”

Elspeth Lynn, Executive Creative Director at M&C Saatchi Group, added: “I didn't want us to just do an "ad" I wanted us to create a film that truly changes road users’ attitudes. This film is driven by genuine human interaction, and the absurdity of it. It is only by seeing how futile our hostility is on the road, that we'll realise the need to change it.”