AUNZ Work of the Week: TAC and Thinkerbell

The Transport Accident Commission’s (TAC) confronting new road safety campaign reframes speeding vehicles as Australia's most lethal predator -- responsible for more deaths than sharks, snakes, and crocodiles combined.

Developed by Thinkerbell, the initiative features a zoo-like installation in Melbourne's CBD displaying wreckage from an actual speed-related crash, accompanied by an immersive audio experience detailing how minor speed increases cause tragedy.

The approach blends behavioural science with stark visuals, “holding a mirror” to irrational fears to recalibrate risk and override biases. The zoo installation brilliantly exploits the availability heuristic, making statistical threats feel immediate by presenting them in a context normally reserved for visceral dangers.

Plus, the audio component is particularly clever, leveraging intimate storytelling to bypass defensive rationalisations about speeding.

While the digital extension helps, the core experience relies on confronting physicality -- a challenge for reaching drivers in regional, rural, and remote areas, where speeding risks are particularly acute.

Given the ongoing TAC pitch, it will be interesting to monitor whether the idea has longevity for the government business best known for ‘Meet Graham’ , but, ultimately, this work succeeds by refusing to compete with traditional road safety messaging's rational appeals -- instead weaponising primal fear responses against the true threat.