#CannesLions winners: ‘Guilt Trips’ is wickedly creative and effective

V/Line is a public transport provider in Victoria, Australia. Their business challenge: how to motivate young people away from their busy metro lives and to take a train-trip to see their parents who usually live miles away in rural areas of Australia. The creative strategy used was plain, simple manipulation of emotions. We’ve all witnessed our parents complain about how they rarely get to hear from us or see us. Such complaints are usually laced with a tinge of self pity and ‘poor me’ tone of voice which makes us children feel guilty.

This powerful, universal insight is behind this cleverly titled ‘Guilt Trip’ campaign, which boosted ticket sales by 15%. The campaign won the Grand Prix in the Creative Effectiveness category at the Cannes Lions 2014. Heres’ the case study video:

Agency: McCann Melbourne.

Here’s the ad. The outdoor campaign is beautifully art directed.

Another winning campaign from McCann, Melbourne.