Ad of the Day: this painful parallel parking film will make you think ‘fuck the car’
Stockholm’s transport system, Storstockholms lokaltrafik (SL) hopes to encourage more people to use its services by showing just how awful driving can actually be.
If you’ve ever tried to parallel (or pocket) park and failed miserably then do not watch this video, it will only frustrate you – which is the crux of the entire campaign. This ad wants to annoy you to the point where you no longer want to use your car to travel, in the hopes that you’ll hop on a bus or train instead.
The slow-but-clever film is the work of the creative agency The Sthlm Family and lasts for three-and-a-half minutes.
“With the campaign, we want to show situations with a high recognition factor, and we want to show that there are alternatives. With increased inflation and high fuel prices, SL and public transport offer a cheaper and more convenient way to travel in many locations,” said Johan Nordgren, head of marketing communications at SL.
“Therefore, the campaign must implicitly communicate the advantage of avoiding traffic queues, looking for parking, and paying expensive parking fines.”
As well as the painstaking video, the project will also run outdoors, in press and on social media.
Art director Hedda Hyland and copywriter Ulf Paulsrud-Sirbäck added: “We like the idea of meeting the recipient in the same context they find themselves in when they see the advertisement.
“Therefore, we chose to specify the location of all devices to get the maximum effect at the receiver. It is also a touchy thought for us to be able to induce anxiety and a feeling of ‘why-the-hell-I-didn't-travel-with-SL-instead’ when motorists are sitting there alone in their cars.”
Credits
Project manager: Kerstin de Potocki
Head of marketing communications: Johan Nordgren,
Account manager: Alma Sunnemark
Client director: Hanna Ternström
Copywriter: Ulf Paulsrud-Sirbäck
Art director: Hedda Hyland
Graphic designer: Johan Olsson
Creative director: Johan Helander
Photographer: Fredrik Bengtsson Studio
Interested in creative campaigns? Check out our Ad of the Day and the Best Ads of the Week sections.