According to estimates, Brazil has one of the highest traffic-related death rates in the world. 75% of road accidents involving fatalities in Brazil are associated with the consumption of alcohol. In order to reduce these appalling statistics, new legislation has come into effect that mandates more severe sanctions, heavy fines and a widespread policing campaign that includes the use of breathalyzers to catch and deter drunk drivers. All of this has resulted in a great boom for the taxi industry, which has ignited the market by attracting new companies and thus making communication an important tool for a company in this sector to distinguish itself in this new, much more competitive scenario.

Our creative solution involved the inclusion of familiar elements from bars in a series of posters that were displayed in bars, concert halls and restaurants, near the 45 taxi stands served by our client, the Coopertax taxi cooperative, in the city of São Paulo. Computers were discarded and the photographs were treated manually, juxtaposing elements that do not go together. The message was designed to impact both drinking and non-drinking drivers and passengers, and it included didactic language and a strong visual appeal.

The taxi cooperative customer service centre received an increase of 13% in requests for taxis during the first week of the campaign. Of those calls, 94% were converted into fare-paying rides, whereas the previous rate had been a little over 80%. Furthermore, there was also a significant increase in the number of walk-up customers at taxi stands.