The Day A COUNTRY STOOD STILL (National Delay Day)

In the Czech Republic, National Delay Day, an anti-speeding initiative, postponed live events nationwide, encouraging people to slow down both in their lives and on the road. 

The Czech Insurance Association wanted to raise awareness about the dangers of unnecessary speeding and to encourage people to slow down on the roads. Ultimately, it wanted to reduce the number of accidents caused by speeding, encourage people to slow down while driving, and remind people that a few minutes of extra time on the road is not worth risking their lives and the lives of others.

That said, we knew that traditional PSA campaigns that use scare tactics have not been effective, and 40% of fatal car accidents are due to speeding. So we decdied to change the conversation from speeding to time—the missing time Czechs try to make up for in their cars.

We analyzed the traffic on the longest Czech highway and found out people save on average only 13 minutes. We decided to symbolically give them these 13 minutes back by delaying the “undelayable” events in their lives and making people realize that they, too, could slow down and be 13 minutes late. 

We delayed the world-famous Prague Astronomical Clock for the first time in 600 years, followed by delaying other major events like the national football cup semi-final match, a National Theater play and university classes.

Truth Well Told:  This earned the campaign media space worth 10 million EUR in just one week. The campaign involved 30+ commercial brands, 50+ pieces of influencers content, organic coverage on biggest TV stations, press and the biggest radio networks–ultimately spreading the message to “wlow down before it’s too late” to reach 75% of the country’s population of 10 million.