London, December, 2024: – Social media agency Cubaka’s latest campaign for Avanti West Coast promotes customer safety during the festive season with a difference. The campaign, running on social media, is in response to research that revealed accidents on the mainline rail network – where intoxication is a possible factor – increase by about 45% during the festive period.
The idea – devised by Cubaka – starts with the rail operator launching a limited edition low-alcohol beer. Cubaka followed this with a 30-second film “Safety First- with Safety Thirst” which is running with paid media ads across YouTube and Meta, strategically timed through December to Christmas for maximum impact.
In the video, Avanti West Coast’s own staff choir takes centre stage as Christmas carollers who appear unexpectedly to delight train passengers. The musical, fun narrative builds to a moment of holiday joy as a surprised passenger joins in, highlighting both the spirit of Christmas and the importance of safety. Shot in Stafford Station, Cubaka was responsible for creative direction, production and post-production of the film – directed by Harrison Joiner, Social Creative at the agency.
Emma Martell, Head of Social Content at Avanti West Coast said: “It’s hard to get people excited about rail safety. So, it was the perfect creative brief to our trusted agency Cubaka. We asked them to tear up the rule book and give us a new kind of public information campaign – and they delivered! The whole business got behind it, helping with everything from can design to finding an award-winning independent brewery in Birmingham to partner with. It was all delivered in just a few short months – no mean feat, and the results speak for themselves”
Olly Honess, Creative Director at Cubaka said: “Understanding that alcohol is involved in such a large proportion of station accidents was a key insight to unlocking this brief. We thought if Avanti West Coast could jump on a growing cultural trend, which could actually help solve the problem, it would be more powerful than just another piece of customer safety content, no matter how entertaining.”
The soundtrack uses a fresh spin on the Christmas classic Jingle Bells, with lyrics focused on promoting safe travel. Teia Fregona, Creative Lead at Cubaka, composed and produced the lyrics and music, bringing an unexpected but heartwarming feel to the project.
The new Safety Thirst beer, at 0.5% alcohol, created in partnership with Birmingham Brewing Company, is stocked in Avanti West Coast’s onboard shop shelves, just in time for Christmas. The can carries the tag-line: “Rail safety just got tasty”.
