Other Creates The Only Jam You'll Want to Get Stuck Into This Summer In New Campaign For Waze

Jul. 22, 2021

Other has been appointed as the UK’s creative agency lead for real-time navigation and driving app, Waze, and is extending the brand platform, “Waze Knows,” in its first project for the client.

With Covid-19 foreign travel bans in place, 90% of us have committed to a staycation this summer, and so the UK is set for the biggest migration of drivers ever seen on the country’s roads. Thankfully, Waze’s real-time routing and road reports enable it to pinpoint for drivers exactly where traffic jams are going to be before they even happen.

To highlight the benefits of Waze for drivers wanting to avoid jams this summer and to position it as the ultimate companion for the road, Other has produced an actual, edible ‘Traffic Jam’, made from types of berries that grow along Britain’s ‘jammiest’ roads like the M1 motorway.

Other has created the jam in partnership with Twisted, the UK’s biggest food social publisher. The jam will be distributed on Twisted’s e-commerce site and sample jars will be included with orders made through the company’s delivery-only restaurant partnership with Uber Eats.

The launch of the jam is supported by a multimedia campaign that covers OOH, DOOH, and 30-second radio spots by OMD and digital video by Abagada. Outdoor and digital ads will feature lines such as “Waze knows when the roads are the depths of hell” and “Waze knows if that shortcut is actually a shortcut”.

Other executions focus on ‘Traffic Jam’, with lines such as “When life gives you traffic, make Traffic Jam” and “Best served on toast. Not tarmac.” Hyperlocal versions highlight problems familiar to the area, including “5mph tractor gala on route to Cornwall. Waze knows”. Radio ads play out familiar traffic dramas and frustrations in a humorous way, such as the sounds of roadworks on the way to Devon.

‘Peep Show’ comedian Robert Webb is providing the voice for the campaign’s radio ads, while Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson and Radio 1 Presenter Jordan North are each creating bespoke social content.

The outdoor media targets drivers during the busiest periods of Summer, such as ‘Frantic Friday’ when schools break for summer holiday and families across the UK set off for their staycation journeys. The DOOH includes some smart billboards, so drivers will see different messaging depending on how much traffic there is on the roads. 

Twisted, which pulls in up to 11 million views for its famously alternative food content, will amplify the Waze campaign across Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 

Kyle Harman-Turner, Executive Creative Director at Other said:

“It’s not every day you make a Traffic Jam foraged from roadside berries…but with millions of Brits embarking on staycation journeys to the likes of Cornwall, Devon or the Lake District, we needed to help drivers to start their holidays right, by eating traffic jams for breakfast, literally. From the very beginning of the pitch we had a shared ambition; to jolt drivers into reconsidering their default navigation app of choice and relieving the nation of traffic pain. With over 3 million UK drivers reporting road issues in real-time, the only jam Wazers will find themselves getting stuck into is the type you can spread on toast.”

 

Jake Shaw, Head of Creative at Waze said:

“Waze has a fantastically playful, human-centered soul and anytime we produce ‘creative' work, we try to reflect those unique traits. The first steps we're taking in the UK market are no exception. It was important to us that people could really get their hands on the Traffic Jam, taste it, and learn about how Waze can help them on their upcoming summer trips. If ‘making traffic jams enjoyable’ is the first thing we do in the UK, we’re excited about seeing where the next leg of the journey takes us.”