Focusing on tiredness, the campaign marks the first work created by integrated agency Iris since it won the account after a four-way pitch in July.
The DfT will target commercial companies who have a natural alignment with the campaign's central message "Make time for a break", which is designed to encourage people to plan their journeys and make regular pit stops.
These brands will then, through Iris, develop their own communications around the "Make time for a break" theme.
A direct mail pack has been designed to encourage brands to sign up and will be targeted at a wide range of brands from petrol forecourts to caffeine drinks and online route finders. The central message on the pack is "Better that customers come straight to you, than don't come at all".
The creative execution features a graphic series of the letter "Z", which zigzags along a road, imitating the reactions of a napping drive.
Claire Glennane, group account director, who heads up Iris' partnership
marketing team, said that partners form a key part of the DfT's strategy to get their road safety message over to the target market.
"The benefit of working with partners is that we can not only educate
drivers on the dangers of driving when tired when they are actually on
their journeys but we can also give them the means to change their
behaviour, for example, by working with partners who can help them take a break or drink a cup of coffee," he said.
The DfT's high-profile "THINK!" campaign includes other safety messages like drink driving and rear seat belt warnings. The department aims to reduce the number of adult road deaths and serious injuries by 40% and children by 50% before 2010.
Art direction was by creative director Carl Easton with copy by Kevin Exley and Suzanne Botha.
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