2015 Winners & Shortlists

Results and Effectiveness

Not only because of this campaign, the Dubai Metro is one of the most popular modes of transport in the city.

Creative Execution

The classifieds pages of newspapers and magazines are read by millions across the UAE. The classifieds pages in the UAE's best-selling newspaper, Gulf News, are the city's most popular. And we applied a very simple and much-used device to highlight the difference between taking a car, and taking the Dubai Metro. We used a thick red marker pen to cut through the second-hand car ads. That line made the outline of the Metro carriage. We used a pen because that's what people use to highlight the cars they are interested in. The message was simple: Avoid the traffic. Take the Metro.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The Roads & Transport Authority in Dubai is responsible for all transport within the city. They understand the city's need to reconsider cars as the preferred mode of transport. Traffic jams are becoming more of a problem as the city's population increases. The introduction of the Dubai Metro is a step in the right direction, and is a success. Yet cars are still king. They are cheaper than in most other countries, and petrol is cheaper than water. But if there's one thing nobody likes, it's a traffic jam.