Admiral
Admiral: Making ‘drive safely’ words to live by
We helped Admiral drive a life-saving conversation by uncovering what really speaks to young drivers and their families.
The challenge
One in five road deaths and serious injuries in the UK involve a young driver. We worked with Admiral to try and change that statistic. We knew that families talk openly to young people about alcohol, drugs and sexual health. But driving – one of the leading causes of serious injury among under-25s – rarely gets the same honest conversation. We needed to start one.
Our approach
Through the Real Folk Panel and Community, we spoke to young drivers, their parents, and families whose lives had been impacted by serious road accidents. These lived experiences shaped our campaign.
Most families know the risk, but 54% rarely or never have a real conversation about it. Instead they fall back on the same phrase: “Drive safely.” Two words, repeated so many times, they’d lost their meaning.
This insight informed Words to Live By, a short film with a powerful narrative twist, designed to make families stop, and feel the weight behind the words. The film was screened in 150 cinemas across the UK, alongside Wicked, putting the message in front of exactly the audiences it needed to reach.
This is Nick’s story of how a serious road traffic collision changed his life forever.
As part of the campaign, we developed a data-led news story to establish Admiral as a credible voice on road safety, showing that the brand was more than an insurer with something to sell. We partnered with Headway, the brain injury association, and worked directly with people whose lives had been dramatically changed, because of a serious accident. Among them was Michael, who was 21 when his crash left him needing 24-hour care. His story became central to the campaign and part of a series of emotive radio adverts featuring real stories from people affected by road accidents.
Finally, we developed an online toolkit with TV psychologist Jo Hemmings, to help parents and young people discuss the Fatal Five driving behaviours.
The impact
- 12% of all video views had a 100% completion rate, against an ad account benchmark of 3.4%
- 35% of respondents reported engaging in meaningful conversations about safe driving with friends or family after seeing the campaign
- 42% had a net improvement in their perception of Admiral as a result
The campaign also earned Admiral recognition that went far beyond advertising metrics. To the House Of Commons, in fact. To discuss the role of insurance in protecting young drivers. MPs thanked Admiral for the campaign and noted it was not what insurers typically do. It wasn’t. And that was exactly the point.
The work also won five industry awards, among them two Golds at the CorpComms Awards and CIPR Cymru Awards, with judges praising the depth of the research and the power of the storytelling.
Ready to turn real human insight into a campaign that changes behaviour? Get in touch
