The 13 Minutes campaign by the Czech Insurance Association, BESIP and the Czech Police won a silver lion in the PR category at Cannes Lions.

At the international advertising competition Cannes Lions, Czechs won only one award this year – a silver lion in the PR category, which was awarded to the 13 Minutes campaign, created jointly by the Czech Insurance Association (ČAP), BESIP and the Czech Police. The creative concept was prepared by McCann Prague agency, which collaborated on its execution with Hero&Outlaw and Renegãdz agencies.

The goal of the campaign was to draw attention to inappropriate speed while driving, which is the cause of 40% of tragic accidents with fatal consequences. The campaign included the documentary film “13 Minutes” by Vít Klusák.

The feature-length documentary 13 Minutes was the cornerstone of the campaign. The title refers to the average time a driver saves on the journey from Prague to Brno when exceeding the speed limit by 20 kilometers per hour. The intention was to highlight the absurd imbalance between the gain and risk of this time transaction and to pose the question of whether 13 saved minutes are worth a human life.

Director Vít Klusák decided to reverse the theme and approached the issue through the eyes of perpetrators as victims. The look into the lives of ordinary drivers who became criminals in a split second was simultaneously a probe and mirror of a hurried society in which everyone is a potential perpetrator. The unconventional perspective, powerful testimonies, and production quality led to the film being broadcast during prime time on the first channel of Czech Television and, as the very first advertisement in the world, being included in the programming of the streaming service HBO in the Czech Republic and abroad.

“We greatly value the award we received for this campaign. However, what has great significance for us is the real impact of the campaign on the behavior of Czech drivers,” said the Executive Director of the Czech Insurance Association Jan Matoušek, who is also one of the producers of the documentary. “During the campaign period, there was a year-on-year decrease in accidents due to inappropriate speed by 9%. Even though accident rates for other causes were rising. This is the result we were aiming for. We wanted a real, tangible change in behavior, and we succeeded,” he added.

“We are very proud that we won a silver lion for a campaign with such scope and impact. It was a campaign that was visible, that people actually talked about. It had a demonstrable impact on the behavior of Czech drivers and helped save human lives. That’s what we’re most proud of. For us, the campaign was successful even before it was sent to southern France,” said Leonard Savage, Chief Creative Officer at McCann Prague