the road toll.

Road to Zero

FCB, in partnership with Waka Kotahi, has launched the first public awareness campaign as part of the Road to Zero strategy. 

Road to Zero, New Zealand’s road safety strategy, was launched by Te Manatū Waka, the Ministry of Transport, in 2019 and Waka Kotahi is the government agency leading its delivery. Underpinned by a vision of zero deaths and serious injuries in Aotearoa, Road to Zero specifically aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand roads by 40% by 2030 (based on 2018 levels).

Waka Kotahi Senior Manager Education and Marketing, Lauren Cooke, said “We want all New Zealanders to get where they are going safely whether they’re walking, cycling, driving, motorcycling or taking public transport. Zero deaths might sound impossible, but Road to Zero is New Zealand’s plan to get there.”

Road to Zero is guided by the “Safe System” approach which remains the international gold standard in road safety.  It recognises that whilst mistakes are inevitable – deaths and serious injuries from crashes are not – and seeks to create a safe and forgiving transport system that makes the safety of people a priority.

Commenting on the work, the first for Waka Kotahi from FCB, Sean Keaney, Managing Director of FCB Wellington, said, “Road to Zero is a bold and strategic plan to essentially save New Zealanders lives. The challenge is that we have become complacent around road safety and almost numb around the phrase “road toll” – it becomes just another number, when the toll itself is actually payment in human lives. It’s no longer acceptable that the cost of our mobility should be paid with the lives of hundreds of Kiwis every year. It’s time to create a disruptive, step change in our attitude towards this horrifying figure. The first part of this campaign seeks to do just that.”

Peter Vegas and Leisa Wall, Executive Creative Directors at FCB, said “The Road Toll is something we’ve become used to, something we hear in the media during the holiday spikes of the year, almost like the weather forecast. We’ve become immune to it. We accept it.

“But each number represents someone’s child, father or wider whānau. It’s actually totally unacceptable, and that’s the creative trigger we needed to pull in the advertising. It’s not a number, it’s a human life. You need to be confronted by that. We’re hoping for that reaction from the New Zealand public from the first initial TVC and are looking forward to the rest of the campaign rolling out.”

The campaign targets all New Zealander [aged 16 and over] and launches across TV, online, print, cinema, OOH, digital/social and partnerships.