Tales of the Road

DfT research (March 2007) showed that the ‘Hedgehog’ campaign was losing impact, as 6 to 11 year olds begin to get older younger; a result of increased exposure to sophisticated media content. Research also revealed that road safety is seen as “un-cool” and something for younger children to “grow out of”. A new child road safety strategy and campaign was therefore devised and implemented.

The Tales of the Road campaign objective is to engage children aged 6 to 11 and to drive understanding of the Green Cross Code and reasons to follow road safety rules at all times – “You can come to ‘real’ harm if you don’t put your road safety skills into practice”.

Tales of the Road uses cautionary tales to tell stories of the Boy who did not Stop, Look and Listen, the Girl who did not Dress Bright in the Dark, the Boy who did not Find a Safe Place to Cross and the Girl who Rode Her Bike all Wrong; and the associated consequences. For example, not being able to play football or go swimming for six weeks.

The call to action on the TV ad is Search Online for “Tales of the Road”. The website provides a wealth of information, games and videos on road safety, and can be used by children (6-11) and parents.

Since launch, various channels have been used to promote the Tales of the Road campaign and messages. These include online display advertising, key children’s TV channels, cinema advertising, advertorials in BBC magazines such as Doctor Who and Girl Talk, branded in-school exercise books and partnership marketing activity to reach and engage children and parents close to the point of danger (for example, on the roads when making a trip to their local cinema).

Using MAST data and working closely with policy colleagues, hotspot areas have been identified to allow future Tales of the Road activity to be tightly targeted to children most at risk. We will also continue to work closely with stakeholders to deliver Tales of the Road resources, such as posters, highway code booklets and reflective materials, to children across the country.

Comparing the most recent wave of Tales of the Road tracking research (May 2009) to the final tracking report for the Hedgehog campaign (March 2007), Hedgehogs was regarded as “friendly” and “fun” and suitable for younger children. Tales of the Road, in line with the campaign objectives, was regarded as “serious”, “sad” and parents were overall very positive about the change from Hedgehog to Tales of the Road.

“Tales of the Road visually pleases children – they enjoy the animation, even the small children watch this. Also children relate more to the characters in Tales of Road than the Hedgehogs, being people not animals.” – Mum of girl 8 years

“The Tales of the Road campaign is for children who are at the age when they are going out and about on their own or just starting to so it’s relevant for them, the Hedgehogs campaign is for younger children.” – Dad of girl 10 years

“The Tales of the Road campaign is real and a bit scary, it’s better than the Hedgehogs one because of that, it’s up to date.” – Mum of boy 7 years