Moving vehicle trials to begin for Volkswagen’s Kangaroo deterrent ‘Roobadge’ via Volkswagen, DDB Sydney, University of Melbourne and WIRES
A seemingly simple device that fits neatly over a Volkswagen’s front badge could save countless kangaroos and regional Australian drivers, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage by emitting a warning signal to kangaroo species of a vehicle’s approach.
Developed over three years by Volkswagen Australia and the DDB Group in consultation with the University of Melbourne and WIRES, it is hoped that Volkswagen’s ‘RooBadge’ will help reduce collisions with kangaroos. These comprise some 90 per cent of on-road wildlife accidents in this country.
Connecting to an in-car app, RooBadge calibrates a vehicle’s GPS coordinates with specifically developed kangaroo species distribution data. The ‘badge’ itself is a circular disc some 17cm in diameter that acts as protective shields, replacing the current Volkswagen roundel/badge.
This conveys a unique audio deterrent for the kangaroo species that inhabits the vehicle’s particular location across Australia.
A mixture of natural and artificial sounds is mixed in real time and projected in a high frequency audio signal from the front of the vehicle.
After extensive trials, permission has been obtained from The University of Melbourne Office of Research Ethics and Integrity to move into Stage Four trials, involving kangaroos in the wild. While supposed deterrent devices have existed for some time, none has been scientifically developed or proven.
Says Associate Professor Graeme Coulson, Melbourne University: “[RooBadge does] something no kangaroo deterrent has been able to do before.
“It’s difficult to produce a single sound that will deter all kangaroos, because the species are different to each other. Using advancement in car technology we can change the sound deterrent by GPS location.
“We have worked on sounds that will be meaningful to Eastern Grey Kangaroos, things like dingo calls, alarm calls made by birds and the alarm thumps that kangaroos make to warn each other. We will then be able to tweak the sound for other species.”
DDB digital executive creative director, David Jackson, who led the project for DDB Sydney, said that what started as a speaker in a VW badge to reduce animal collisions on our roads, became an innovative, data and science-driven project: “Over time this concept just grew and grew. By partnering with The University of Melbourne and WIRES we were able to build a protective audio shield that will have real impact on keeping people safe on our roads. We have also worked with The University of Melbourne Office of Research Ethics and Integrity and industry leaders to develop RooBadge through real-world tests to help optimise our hardware, software and sounds.”
Says John Grants, WIRES spokesman: “Kangaroo collisions are increasing every year and with more motorists on the roads over the Easter holiday period we are expecting a spike in rescue calls for injured adults and displaced joeys. WIRES is grateful to automotive companies like Volkswagen for researching and developing solutions to better protect both our kangaroos and motorists.”
Says Ryan Davies, director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: “Why is Volkswagen investing time and energy in this project? Because we can and it’s the right thing to do.
“A collision with a ‘roo can be devastating. It is not easily forgotten once seen, and certainly not if experienced. Then there’s the possibility of a front-on collision with an approaching vehicle at country road speeds when one driver is trying to avoid striking a kangaroo. These are even more likely to have a fatal human outcome.”
The University of Melbourne’s Dr Helen Bender, who’s research has been used extensively in this project, says: “Roadkill is a problem all around the world.
“What’s interesting about deer relative to kangaroos is that they’re very similar in body size, head size, and ear size. What we know from science is that the ear shape in the head shape tells us that they probably have similar hearing ranges. So, whatever we learn has transferability to the deer as well.”
DDB executive creative director, Matt Chandler, said that innovation was at the forefront of this campaign for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and has been a huge commitment from the DDB team over the past four years: “The team were incredibly passionate about this project from the start and we have since seen four years of deep innovation and product development to deliver something that is not only meaningful, but protects Australians driving VW utes on our roads. The list of people who have cared for this project over the years is long, and it is testament to the passion and belief the agency has had for it, led by the brilliant and inexhaustible David Jackson.”
Find out more about Volkswagen’s Roobar here: https://www.volkswagen.com.au/en/roobadge.html
Client: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
Director, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles – Ryan Davies
Head of Marketing and Product, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles – Nathan Johnson
Creative Agency: DDB Group Sydney
David Jackson: Digital ECD (Concept)
Noah Regan: Creative Partner (Concept)
Stephen de Wolf: National Chief Creative Officer
Ben Welsh: Chief Creative Officer
Tara Ford: Chief Creative Officer
Matt Chandler: Executive Creative Director
Tim Woolford: Creative Partner
Tommy Cehak: Creative Partner
Chris Ott: Creative
Nick Russo: Managing Partner
Natalija Bouropoulos: Business Director
Oscar Kennedy: Business Executive
Adrian Jung: Group Head of Delivery
Renata Barbosa: Head of Integrated Content
Sevda Cemo: Head of Integrated Content
Rene Shalala: Senior Producer
Tania Jeram: Senior Producer
Laura Oleart: Integrated Producer
Natalie Greaves: Producer
Morteza Shahbake: Senior Art Director
Rhys Day: Senior Editor
Technology Partner: Nakatomi
Research Partner: The University of Melbourne
Industrial Design Partner: Vert Design
Design Agency: Interbrand Australia
Music and Sound: Mosaic
DOP: Simon Hammond
Production Assistant: Mason Walker
Grade: Fergus Hally
Drone: Flying Robot
68 Comments
If this works, this is great. I’ve sadly hit a few roos in my time and the cost to fix the car/windshield does add up.
You Cannes not be serious …
So is the badge just screaming like a banshee the whole time or is it imperceptible to human ears? It says “high frequency audio signal” but doesn’t specify. I think if it works and isn’t insanely noise polluting it’s a great idea.
This idea has lived through 3 CCOs. How many years have you kept this one alive?
This is really really cool but honest question: isn’t there a danger it will prompt a whole bunch of otherwise static Kangaroos to suddenly flee… sometimes onto the road?
Great idea. Hope you can get to proof of concept.
I wonder what this is actually meant to achieve…. I wonder what deadline is but a week or two away…
Attracts Lions
Sure, it’s clear the idea has been around a long time. But someone in the team, or at the uni, persevered and completed it. Things like this take research, 3 or 4 years of it, so no wonder it has survived a couple of creative leaders. So, bravo.
The only thing is, they have a working prototype and not a commercially available product – which makes it a perfect Cannes entry.
…we’ll just have to keep mowing them down then!
Sell Kangaroo deterrent whistles for $6. They work a treat.
What a load of Roo poo. Most blatant Cannes attempt I’ve seen.
I like that you were honest about the fact it’s still in development even if it was only mentioned at the end of the case study. Will be interesting to see how the juries respond to that. Although it feels a bit strange that the product design and packaging is finished before the product is proven to work.
No they do not. Had one fitted myself . Roo Ruined my Prado in 2019
With all that research, you think they’d have seen that this product has been around for years! https://www.shuroo.com.au/
Surely this release was sent a few days early to be an April Fools prank.
Nice work Jacko – know this has been a labour of love for you
Same same, but different
It’s literally rebadging an off-the-shelf tech. Ali Express is full of these!
I hope you make it further along the production line than me.
Ain’t no list without me!
It’s an existing product and has been for years, literally hundreds of them on Amazon.
https://www.magnamail.com.au/p/outdoor/pest-control/m268-ultra-sonic-wildlife-warning-set-2?vid=71945&affiliate=ADMMASM&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwh4-wBhB3EiwAeJsppM3yugELsk1yYPP14bz2rGVatx5US5DMzo4rnfrePnkng2pek0ewGRoCMMsQAvD_BwE
in 2003, this would be called innovative.
Thought we had stopped using useless land fill products to get a Cannes Lion?
Classic, just the kind of idea we love to see just before the Cannes deadline. Might not save a Roo, but might save our award tally!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD3W4x-R6OI
C’mon guys this has been on the shelves for years! https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/gws-gws-hopper-stopper-animal-repeller/10024.html
Location specific audio sounds pretty impressive… interested to see the future of this.
Heaps of kangaroo experts on this thread which is a coincidence, but hey cool
Always check the internet before punting a tech idea to a brand. Heaps of these on there already.
After a quick google search it looks like the University’s previous research concluded that these types of devices don’t work. I think you need to explain how this device is different. You allude to it briefly but the case study would be stronger if you made it clear exactly how the challenges will be overcome.
drive.com.au/news/skippy-looks-but-doesnt-listen-20130716-2q31j
Amaroks make up about 0.8% of all new car sales in AU each year. If 9m roos are killed on our roads each year, that means maybe 72,000 are killed by an Amarok. If 1 in 100 drivers fits one of these, it saves 720 roos a year. Worth it?
It’s amazing the other products some people are comparing this to. Glad you think the issue is already sorted.
This lacks a strong brand idea. On top of that, the tech reeks of BS. So what is it, just a toy.
For this to work when travelling at speed, you would have to blast a *very* loud noise for the sound to get ahead of the car for the animals to hear in time to react. Even then, you might end up scaring stationary kangaroos *onto* the road. It’s experimental as the case film says, but I feel that this will never make it as a real world solution. It’s effectively a research project, and the Cannes timing is transparent.
https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/gws-gws-hopper-stopper-animal-repeller/10024.html
AND THESE TYPES OF IDEAS FOR BRANDS ARE SILLY.
Damn that article killed it for me
…if the Roo Badge’s efficacy had been proven first. I hate being that guy, but essentially this is still a prototype with no real results or proof that it actually works in the real world.It’s a great idea and the ambition is fantastic. But how many of these things have we seen now that win awards and don’t actually make it into widespread public use. I sincerely hope that the efficacy side can be sold before jurors even consider awarding it.
People are very funny today. In a nice way.
Yep.
Is this it. Is This ALL WE CAN DO?
One off prototype inventions designed ONLY for Cannes and NOTHING ELSE.
I’ve worked on three other ‘prototypes’ with some of these names and we dumped them the second they won (or lost).
Because ALL we cared about was the metal.
And the brands who paid our bills? They were just distractions from stuff like this.
And it’s why eggs with fucking steps on them, pepper grinders that turn off WiFi, bushfire sniffers and now this are literally all we care about.
@noclarityplease
The jury are the only target audience for this. Trust me, nobody gives a shit about whether these prototypes work or not.
21 March to 04 April are the last deadline dates for Cannes and their well made case study is all ready.
This exists solely for awards. There is no interest in dead kangaroos or VW’s ongoing success. Just the desperate attempts of a few people to win a little prize.
1. Find some boring tech with a social purpose. Preferably something you can connect to one of your clients.
2. RENAME IT (Clever Buoy, Roo Badge, something sticky.)
3. Give the impression the agency came up with the idea to solve a problem.
4. Put together emotive case study that implies number three.
5. Win/Lose some awards.
6. Go to new agency, get paid a bit more to desperately search for some new tech.
REPEAT FROM TWO.
Those plastic whistles don’t work. Biggest cash-grab in the world, but it keeps our shareholders happy every time someone buys one. I don’t work at DDB, but I also don’t work at Supercheap.
Desperate attempt. Especially when existing products are available.
Roobish
Cannes really needs to start lumping all the scam together in one category
Cannes Lyin’ Awards
Clearly VW legal have been all over this, hence why it’s clearly spelt out to be a prototype (which let’s be honest, most agencies would not want to share). So when they approved this bit in the PR release, I assume it/he has credibility.
Says Associate Professor Graeme Coulson, Melbourne University: “[RooBadge does] something no kangaroo deterrent has been able to do before.
“It’s difficult to produce a single sound that will deter all kangaroos, because the species are different to each other. Using advancement in car technology we can change the sound deterrent by GPS location.
“We have worked on sounds that will be meaningful to Eastern Grey Kangaroos, things like dingo calls, alarm calls made by birds and the alarm thumps that kangaroos make to warn each other. We will then be able to tweak the sound for other species.”
This and work like it really makes me want to leave the industry. It’s embarrassing because it’s blatantly transparent. So transparent that it’s almost a parody.
Scam Prix
Sorry but this is like an expensive joke. Please can we ban this rubbish, it just hurts the whole industry.
I can’t believe it already exists. Very sad for the team if they didn’t know, but it looks very mainstream in oz
AKA: Award scam.
clever bouy…….
We need more creativity that dares to solve big problems. This is great. Well done to all involved. Love it
‘One of Australia’s best selling utes’ – that is pure comedy, right there.
The industry needs to stop recognising unusable ‘product innovation’ that is just a blatant rebadging of existing technology and not available en-masse.
Incredible how few people on that credits list work there any more
I’m just so glad everyone can see this prototype for exactly what is is. Scammy work.
Keep them coming Jacko. Well done.
Your attempt here is blatant. This campaign makes me want to start a save the Lions campaign. We can’t have ideas like this continuously tarnish Cannes. It’s embarrassing.
Ben Welsh.
Noah Regan.
Tara Ford.
All gone YEARS ago.
WTF????
“They dont work on Easter Monday so send it out today”
https://www.drive.com.au/news/volkswagen-offers-limited-edition-kangaroo-sausages/?utm_campaign=syndication&utm_source=smh.com.au&utm_content=article_3&utm_medium=partner
Clever Buoy was a mother plant. A mutation. It was the “nothing beats a Londoner” of its time. It can’t be accountable for others cloning its DNA.
Grand Prix winner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW1AlvBFTww
Grow tf up