To encourage Lisbon drivers to contribute towards a better, less congested and more ecological city by motivating them to leave their car at home and use instead Carris public transport. As in all the big cities, the inhabitants of Lisbon live in fear of being fined. The idea arose to scare them with a false parking ticket. In fact, it is a message drawing their attention to the advantages of the bus.The false parking tickets were stuck on car windscreens. To cause greater surprise, they were stuck on correctly parked cars. This street action formed an integral part of a wider campaign using traditional media. The client briefing drew attention to the need to be able to talk face to face with drivers, as a complement to the press and television adverts. Since the lack of a specific database and the insupportable costs of direct marketing made it impossible to reach drivers, this was seen to be the most viable solution – cheap and even the most effective and creative. The idea arose within the context of a meeting between the creative and media teams at the point where a decision had to be made on the most suitable vehicles to carry the campaign. In a way, we can say that this is the first direct marketing street gimmick, in the sense, that, in an unexpected and original way, it allowed direct and effective contact to be established with drivers. The most curious aspect is that, although it was a street action, few people knew anything about it except for the proposed target. There was no big happening drawing everyone’s attention – on the contrary. Thousands of small happenings were created and experienced in silence by each driver who got a fright on seeing an unwelcome parking ticket on his windscreen.

This street action formed an integral part of a wider campaign using traditional media. The client briefing drew attention to the need to be able to talk face to face with drivers, as a complement to the press and television adverts. Since the lack of a specific database and the insupportable costs of direct marketing made it impossible to reach drivers, this was seen to be the most viable solution – cheap and even the most effective and creative. The idea arose within the context of a meeting between the creative and media teams at the point where a decision had to be made on the most suitable vehicles to carry the campaign.