The success of the ‘Pinkie’ campaign – Speeding. No one thinks big of you: A new approach to road safety marketing.

Speeding is the biggest road safety problem in NSW and young male drivers are significantly over represented in speeding related crashes. This is not an emerging trend; it has been the case for decades. This is despite the introduction of new technology to help detect and penalise speeding drivers, targeted legislation, improved vehicle safety features and education campaigns to ensure drivers are aware of and understand the dangers of speeding.
In 2007 the RTA adopted a new approach to make contact with a traditionally difficult to reach target audience (young men) with an anti speeding message that would have an impact on their attitudes, beliefs and motivate behaviour change. The ‘Pinkie’ campaign ‘Speeding. No one thinks big of you’ has not only broken through the youth barrier but has been embraced by popular youth culture. Amazingly the campaign has generated worldwide interest, confirming that young male speeding drivers are a global problem and that the campaign has adopted a unique approach. The campaign has won industry awards and gained unparalleled media exposure but most importantly it has combined with other anti speeding initiatives to help significantly reduce speeding related fatalities in NSW. The campaign was extensively researched during its development and subsequent campaign tracking confirms the methodology was on target. The Pinkie campaign has introduced a new paradigm into road safety marketing in Australia.