Graphic New Zealand campaign shows how seatbelts save lives /

Early last year, the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, which exists to promote safe and functional transport in New Zealand, wanted to reduce the amount of avoidable road fatalities. According to the agency, around 100 New Zealanders die in car crashes each year, and 30% could survive if they were wearing a seatbelt.

Since young men from rural areas make up the majority of these fatalities, the NZ Transport Agency set out to transform the seatbelt from a sign of weakness into a symbol of survival. Working with Clemenger BBDO Wellington, the agency partnered with media company VICE to create an alternative to standard road safety PSAs: Belted Survivors.

Based on an insight that its target audience liked to share hardcore images of injuries and scars, the campaign gathered hundreds of real stories from people who had survived road accidents thanks to their seatbelts. The agency chose 10 survivors, whose injuries and seatbelt marks were recreated from post-crash photographs by special effects makeup company PROFX. 

These survivors were photographed in their homes, and shared the images on their social channels. The images were also displayed as large-scale OOH near car parks of bars and pubs in the survivors’ hometowns, and at events popular with the campaign’s target audience of young men. Each survivor’s story lives on a dedicated website, where people can watch videos of the injuries being recreated and submit their own seatbelt survivor stories. 

As the campaign progressed, the 10 survivors became advocates for making ‘the right call’ to wear a seatbelt, encouraging other young men to do the same. The stories were picked up by national and later global media, and led to a long-term initiative with the New Zealand Police, with survivors participating in workshops focused on seatbelt safety.

Results / Belted Survivors resulted in half a billion impressions worldwide, a 540% increase in audience engagement (compared to NZ Government standards for social marketing to this audience) and a 74% perception shift for its target audience. The campaign had a recall almost three times higher among young males than the general population, and nearly four times higher than previous seatbelt campaign recall.