Maruti Suzuki launches campaign on Safety

As part of its efforts in the same direction, Maruti Suzuki has come out with its latest communication campaign on road safety - a series of 8 films that take on the challenge of positively impacting people’s attitude towards road safety.

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

More than spreading awareness, Maruti Suzuki is hoping for an attitude change amongst road users, as an impact of the campaign. Road users are generally aware of rules in case of the most common traffic rule violations, such as not wearing seatbelt/helmet, not stopping before zebra crossings etc. What they lack is an attitude of concern towards the grave consequences that may arise owing to their violations. Hence, the intent is to create a conscience for road safety rules, which are otherwise most commonly neglected.

The films cover subjects which are integral to our everyday living - giving way to ambulances, saying no to drunk driving, always wearing a seatbelt, lane driving, avoiding phone calls while driving etc. The plot of each film lets you pause and ponder about your own behavior.

The campaign features 8 TVCs on road safety, conceptualised by Dentsu Creative Impact, Gurgaon, addressing the issues of non-adherence to the road safety rules and norms. The thought behind the communication is “If we know it’s wrong, why do we still do it?”

Speaking on the films Vinay Pant, AVP, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, said “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. Intent is that every time people are breaking a traffic rule out of apathy, they should be reminded of these films, hopefully have a change of heart and start making the roads safer.”

Mahesh Rajoria, AVP, Driving Training, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd said “Being a leader in the Indian automotive industry, Maruti Suzuki, has always gone beyond providing people with mobility solutions. We always go an extra mile to ensure the well-being of our society. We believe that it is our responsibility to work towards making the Indian roads safer and our teams work tirelessly to spread awareness about safe driving and traffic regulations.”

Amit Wadhwa, Branch Head & President, Dentsu Creative Impact adds “Since the start, the intention was to look out for new and unconventional ways to communicate a simple message of road safety. With a strong insight, we feel we can reach out to those who may not always break the rules because they want to, but because they are so used to it by now that it has become a part of them. And our honest effort, is to at least make them think before they act.”

Soumitra Karnik, NCD, Dentsu Creative Impact, said “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?’, the expectation is to touch base with each individual.”

As the films go for a PAN India release this month, Maruti Suzuki hopes this effort can help make roads safer in India.

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