Maruti Suzuki releases eight ad films on road safety

Created by Dentsu Creative Impact, these digital films will be aired on TV soon.

India features as one of the countries with the highest rate of road accidents in the world. As part of its effort in creating awareness towards road safety, Maruti Suzuki has come out with its latest communications campaign -- a series of eight films that take on the challenge of positively impacting people's attitude towards road safety.

The campaign, conceptualised by Dentsu Creative Impact, features eight TVCs which address the issue of non-adherence to road safety rules and norms. The ads are currently on the digital platform and will soon be aired on television.

The films are not so much about educating road users and creating road safety awareness amongst them, as they are about changing the attitude of apathy towards road safety. It is this apathy that Indian road users can sometimes have towards traffic rule violations which can result in dire consequences for them, as well as for fellow road users. The campaign aims to stir their conscience and make them reflect on their apathy.

The auto major hopes that the campaign will not just create awareness towards road safety, but will actually bring about an attitude change amongst road users. In most cases, people are aware of the traffic rules, but will continue to violate them such as not wearing seatbelt/helmet, or not stop at zebra crossings.

The films cover subjects which are integral to our daily lives on the roads such as giving way to ambulances, saying no to drunk driving, always wearing a seatbelt, lane driving, or avoiding phone calls while driving. The plot of each film lets you pause and ponder about your own behaviour.

Talking about the films, Vinay Pant, associate vice-president, marketing, Maruti Suzuki India, says in a press release, "It's a hard-hitting campaign, rooted in on-road insights. Our desired impact would be that people are moved to think and reflect on their attitude. The intent is that every time people break a traffic rule out of apathy, they should be reminded of these films, and hopefully, have a change of heart and start making the roads safer."

Soumitra Karnik, national creative director, Dentsu Creative Impact, says in a press release, "We believe in developing strong campaigns using consumer insights as a base so that the message reaches the right segment. With the core insight of 'If we know it's wrong, why do we still do it?', our expectation is to touch base with each individual."

As the films get ready for a pan-India release this month, Maruti Suzuki hopes its effort can help make roads safer in India.