TAC Speed Campaigns Win International Awards

22 Sep 2011

MEDIA RELEASE: 22 September 2011

Two Transport Accident Commission (TAC) campaigns developed to help change Victorian motorists' attitudes to speed have won international awards.

The Rename Speed and Ripple Effect campaigns were today recognized at the Spikes Asia awards which honour creative excellence in advertising campaigns across the Asia Pacific region.

Rename Speed, an online campaign calling on Victorians to help change the name of the town Speed to SpeedKills, won gold in the ‘Best Use of Social Media Marketing' category.

The Ripple Effect, a TV, radio and outdoor campaign featuring the Robinson family whose son Luke was killed in a crash involving speed, won gold in the Integrated media category and silver in the outdoor advertising category.

The Robinson family, led by Luke's father Norm, has continued campaigning for road safety since creating the Ripple Effect with the TAC in June last year.

The township of Speed was renamed SpeedKills for four weeks in February after more than 30,000 people supported the locals' quest to make the change on the Rename Speed Facebook page.

Local farmer Phil Down also changed his name to Phil ‘Slow' Down after support for the cause grew following a Melbourne radio interview.

TAC Acting Senior Manager of Road Safety and Marketing, Samantha Cockfield, said that while gaining international recognition for the campaigns was a bonus, she hoped the campaigns resonated with all Victorians.

"What is most important for us is that Victorian motorists saw the messages behind these campaigns, and slowed down," Ms Cockfield said.

"Both of these campaigns were very different in the way they were delivered, but what remained constant was the fact they promoted the message 'speed kills', and that the effects of speed-related road trauma are devastating."

Speed is a contributing factor in about 30 per cent of all fatal crashes, yet it still remains a socially acceptable behaviour for many Victorians.

"Our greatest challenge is to change the community's attitude towards speeding, and we will continue to develop innovative campaigns to assist us in achieving that," Ms Cockfield said.

"Our resolve to create change is stronger than ever but we need every single Victorian to share that resolve and take ownership of this issue."