NZ Transport Agency launches shocking ‘Mistakes’ spot via Clemenger BBDO, Wellington

No one should pay for a mistake with their life, as demonstrated in the latest dramatic spot for NZTA via Clemenger BBDO, Wellington.

Finch director Derin Seale creates a powerful narrative with the :60 clip, showing us two drivers experiencing an extended moment of pause at that split second before they collide into one another.

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As the two men exit their cars, their conversation personalizes the grim repercussions about to take place, with one man pleading for the safety of his son in the backseat.  Unable to alter the outcome, the drivers return behind the wheel and we see a speedometer reading over 100/km per hour before everything changes dramatically. Real-time suddenly returns as the violent moment of impact occurs, and the and the heartbreaking realization that we’re powerless to change a simple mistake made in a second’s time is driven home.

Mistakes, the latest NZ Transport Agency ad targeting speeding drivers, is part of a multi-agency effort aimed at reducing deaths and injuries on New Zealand roads. Last year 83 people were killed and 408 were seriously injured in speed-related crashes on New Zealand roads. Most Kiwis recognise the risks of driving at speed and support police enforcement of the speed limit to keep everyone safe.

But these statistics show that even drivers who support safe speeds don’t always put their beliefs into practice when they are behind the wheel driving: speed is still a contributing factor in 20% of all fatal and serious injury crashes on New Zealand roads.

Previous New Zealand advertising campaigns have shown that the faster you go the less time you have to react, the longer it takes to stop and the bigger the mess when you do stop. But some people still deny this truth or think it doesn’t apply to them. Their speed may be over the limit but to them it is minimal, e.g. 107 km/h in a 100 km/h area. In their minds they’re not actually ‘speeding’, but driving comfortably, and they feel in control.

This campaign aims to reframe the way that people look at their speed when they’re driving.

It demonstrates that while a person may be a good driver they can’t change the fact that human beings are prone to making mistakes, including other drivers. In many aspects of life we can learn from our mistakes; but not when driving – the road is an exception. Even the smallest of mistakes on the road can cost us our life, or take someone else’s.

Client: New Zealand Transport Agency

Sound Design Studio: Nylon Studios