South Africa has one of the highest road accident rates in the world with 14000 deaths each year. Many of these involve objects in the blind spot. Here things come at you from all sides. From the delivery drivers on scooters to cyclists.

Dedicated to creating a safer journey for all, Volkswagen wanted to demonstrate that "The People's Car" are putting the people first by developing safety systems (IQ.DRIVE) with everyone in mind, and raising awareness of those most at risk on the road. Not just Volkswagen drivers.

We need to show our solidarity for motorcyclists and cyclists, raise road safety awareness, improve brand sentiment, and drive consumers to find out more about VW's IQ.DRIVE safety system with Blind Spot Monitor.

To showcase VW's IQ.DRIVE safety system and raise road safety awareness in dealerships, we launched a campaign that people never saw coming.

Using a specialised paint called Black 3.0, a paint so dark it absorbs 99% of light and removes all definition, we created a series of “invisible” life-size installations featuring objects that would commonly be found and missed in your blind spot – Delivery drivers and cyclists. We then placed these in Volkswagen dealerships with high foot-traffic, in full view of the public. Upon inspection, onlookers were then directed to the VW website where they could find out more about IQ.DRIVE's safety features, as well as engage with a member of staff on the floor.

As the People’s Car, VW are committed to making the road safer for all and to help the people of South Africa continue on their journey of life, regardless of their mode of transport. The accident rate is so high we needed to demonstrate its safety features benefit everyone, by putting those most affected in the spotlight with a disruptive idea that made the country take notice. Cyclists and bikers are the most at risk, with accidents involving food delivery drivers up by 30%. So we launched the campaign during World Motorcycle Awareness Month.

Our primary audience was the general public, but to connect with those most impacted, we created multiple pillars with executions that targeted the biking and cycling audiences. By doing this we created a platform for multiple audiences to start a conversation about road safety and show that Volkswagen’s safety systems are designed with everyone in mind.

The success of this campaign completely relied on effectively creating a visual experience for the audience. One that truly took onlookers by surprise. A unique challenge required a unique media solution. To ensure the installations were as realistic as possible, we worked with specialised product designers to develop accurate to scale replicas of those most at risk on the road – Food delivery driver and cyclist. These were then primed & treated with Black 3.0. A paint so black it removes definition, rendering objects "invisible". The life-size installations, were 2,4m (7.8ft) x 2,4m (7.8ft) x 6m (20ft) long when assembled & launched nationally at VW’s key dealerships and conference during World Motorcycle Awareness Month. Dealerships are often crowded, so we needed to disrupt the ordinary space with something that really caught the public's eye. The bigger the installation, the greater the reveal when people discovered what was hiding in plain

The campaign put road safety in the spotlight and turned the retail space into an interactive experience generating:

32% Increase in IQ.DRIVE safety system site visits

49% Increase in time spent on site

19% Increase in sales leads inquiries

Consumers, Motorcycle associations, Road Safety organisations applauded the brand's efforts to make the road a safer place for all motorists - and everyone else on the road.

Even the inventor of BLK 3.0 had something to say: "It's amazing that a paint for artists is now saving lives."