Break Up with Your Car: Auckland Transport urges Aucklanders out of ‘car monogamy’ in latest ‘Mix Your Go’ campaign via FEDERATION
Aucklanders are being encouraged out of their car monogamy to start “seeing others” – as Auckland Transport (AT) launches its boldest and funniest Mix Your Go campaign yet.
In partnership with independent agency FEDERATION, AT has unveiled ‘Break Up With Your Car’ – a cheeky, unforgettable campaign designed to shake Aucklanders out of auto-pilot and into action. At the heart of the campaign is an uncomfortable truth: Auckland has one of the highest car ownership rates in the world. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Audience insight-led, the campaign is backed by compelling data. AT’s analysis of their potential to change-behaviour revealed that 750,000 Aucklanders live within 500 metres of a frequent bus service that runs every 15 minutes, 7am to 7pm. The opportunity? Massive. If AT could inspire even a portion of these potential riders, including sceptics, to give the expanded network a go, the impact for both AT and Auckland would be transformative.
The campaign’s creative is a category breaker in the world of public transport. The TVC follows Sarah, a young woman trying to move on from her car – only to have her clingy, emotional car stalk her to work in a humorous, over-the-top attempt to win her back. The scenes feel more like a rom-com breakup than a transport ad. And that’s exactly the point.
“We didn’t want another forgettable PSA,” says Brad Collett, Chief Creative Officer at FEDERATION. “We wanted something that could stop people in their tracks and actually change behaviour. The jealous car following its owner? It’s weird I know , but also disarmingly relatable. You’re watching a breakup, not a lecture. It’s a total category breaker.”
Says Anna Lawrence, Head of Brand and Marketing at Auckland Transport, “A lot of us drive out of habit. This campaign gently challenges that without finger-wagging. The tone’s dry, the story carries the humour and the emotion, and we kept it grounded in classic Kiwi understatement. And above all, there’s a theme of ‘Car Inclusivity’ that respects the insight that Aucklander’s love their cars. Taking a car-inclusive approach means more Aucklanders are willing to consider other modes too, like walking, cycling and public transport.”
From awkward radio ads to digital cutdowns and OOH, the campaign stretches across touchpoints, but always with the same punchy core message: it’s time to move on from your car.
PLAY THE RADIO SPOT:
And it’s already working. Since Auckland Transport’s Mix Your Go platform launched, public transport usage is up 25%. A huge shift in a city long dominated by car culture.
“This is behaviour change marketing at its best,” says Olly Walker-Boden, Managing Director at Federation. “It’s bold, it’s fun, and it’s delivering results. We’re not just talking about alternatives, we’re making them compelling choices for Aucklanders.”
Sometimes, the healthiest thing you can do for yourself and your city, is to break up with your car.
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