A story about the Sad Bus that no one likes. Children are afraid of it. No one loves it. It just makes you want to hug it, make it feel better, rescue it from its fate. But we’ve decided to… kill it! Because there’s no mercy for faulty buses that transport our children!

The campaign consisted of uploading a movie to the YouTube channel of the Ministry of the Interior and informing journalists of the start of the campaign. The rest happened by itself…

From the very first day the movie generated very extreme and opposing reactions. People started creating fanpages, alternative endings and memes. Within 24 hours, the debate moved from the internet to television, the press and radio. The Sad Bus appeared in all of the most important media outlets in the country. It was also discussed abroad. Online stores started selling t-shirts and gadgets with the titular character, and someone created a mobile game in which you could rescue the Bus. The creators of the movie were vilified (“Duzy Format” called us Nazis) and the agency even received threats.

Looking at the gigantic wave of negative comments, one might think that we created the worst and most hated social campaign in the history of Polish advertising. However, the results show something different.

2mln views on YouTube (zero media support)

5mln additional viewers during the TV news in one evening

750 official publications

500000 euro free media coverage

31% of users know the Sad Bus. The campaign is the third most recognizable social campaign in Poland.

33% of comments were negative, 30% positive and 37% neutral.

26% of people who had children and heard of the campaign visited www.bezpiecznyautobus.gov.pl, 60% declared that they will check a bus on website in the future.

35000 buses were checked. Statistically, one in three buses registered in Poland was checked using the service!

The police stopped over 5000 Sad Buses.That’s 100% more than the previous year.