Sydney, Australia – To highlight the importance of those drivers returning to driving after experiencing road trauma, car servicing brand mycar Tyre &Auto has teamed up with TBWA\Sydney and Eleven to launch a campaign that features the initiative ‘Return Plates’ (R Plates). This recognises drivers returning to the road after suffering trauma or following a significant break from driving.

The R Plate aims to encourage empathy from other road users, so returning drivers will feel less pressure, giving them time and space to recover. 

Said initiative connects drivers with links to local and national support services, making help available at any time as well as providing access to real stories and the science behind road trauma recovery. R Plates sees mycar Tyre & Auto continue to build on its brand platform.

To properly launch the initiative, the campaign tapped Dr. Jason Thompson, associate professor at the University of Melbourne, for his expertise in psychology, transportation and post-injury rehabilitation. 

Commenting on the campaign, he says, “People talk about the physical injuries associated with car accidents, but we often overlook the psychological impact associated with the experience. It is a huge burden that Australia carries, it’s an issue we can do something about and this campaign is a great start.”

Adele Coswello, chief customer officer at mycar Tyre & Auto, said, “Our research shows that despite being a nation of confident drivers (89%), almost half of Australians (43%) have lost their confidence at some point, with around three-quarters (73%) having been affected by a road incident.”

She added, “At mycar, we are committed to putting people first, so supporting drivers returning to the road made complete sense. With R Plates, we are helping to signify to other road users that the driver is going through something that otherwise can’t be seen, encouraging empathy and extra care. Returning to the road is also a return to freedom, independence and confidence.”

Meanwhile, Evan Roberts, chief creative officer at TBWA\Sydney, commented, “There have been many people involved in bringing this initiative to life. While this is just the beginning I would like to take a moment to thank our incredible clients, production partners and, of course, our own people who have given so much to this project.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Car e-commerce platform Carsome has announced the acquisition of the businesses of WapCar and AutoFun. Upon the completion of the acquisition, Carsome set up the parent company, WapCar AutoFun Sdn Bhd (WapCar), as a fully-owned subsidiary of the Carsome group in Malaysia.

WapCar first established its first flagship brands, WapCar and AutoFun in 2019. Today, it operates a number of automotive content websites and social media channels across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. WapCar provides a full range of content which covers car exploration, transaction, and ownership experiences, using industry-leading technology to help customers in Southeast Asia find their perfect car and immerse themselves in all things related to automotive. 

The platform also produces, distributes and manages highly-engaging professionally generated content (PGC) and user generated content (UGC) at scale.

According to Eric Cheng, co-founder and group CEO at Carsome, WapCar has built a strong automotive content strategy in Southeast Asia, liked by a large and engaging customer base. He added that the partnership will enable Carsome to capture and serve customers from their early stage of car exploration and bring a more engaging and fun experience to the car transaction and ownership journey.

“We are thrilled to announce the partnership with WapCar and a team with seasoned expertise in the content space. We believe our collaboration through content, technology and data will augment our ability to bring trust, transparency and choice to customers together,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sting Peng, general manager at WapCar, commented, “We are excited to work with Carsome to collectively provide a smooth car buying and selling experience to millions of WapCar users on our platform across the region, as well as an end-to-end solution in their car transaction and ownership journey.”

Sydney, Australia – Global digital creative agency AnalogFolk has created a new campaign via its Sydney arm, to launch Hyundai’s new N-Line sports package for the i30Sedan in Australia.

The 90-second launch film ‘After Dark’ takes an edgy and dark theme. The video features dream-like sequences with deconstructed nursery rhymes and rap performed by Australian talent.

The agency calls its latest creative endeavor as “taking a non-traditional approach to a traditional car.” The spot stars real people who are pursuing side hustles and passions outside of their day jobs.

AnalogFolk Executive Creative Director Richard Morgan said the campaign aims to capture the attention of people who have a quiet, innate sense of competitiveness and love the thrill of driving.

“Early on, we resolved that if you’re the sort of person who likes to curl up with a light Adam Sandler comedy on Netflix and an early night, then this isn’t the car, nor the spot for you,” said Morgan.

The agency said the car’s all-new virtual cockpit helped inspire the idea to set the campaign at night, when the car, like the characters who drive it, “light up and come alive.”

“The need to step outside of our comfort zone and overcome barriers – real or imagined – is something that our audience intuitively understands,” Morgan said.

“Setting the spot at night, when the senses are heightened and our hero characters are hard at work while most people are safely tucked up in bed, allowed us to interweave surprising, nocturnal elements in playful, non-
linear ways, using the urban landscape as a backdrop,” he added.

The campaign of 90-, 30-, and 15-second cutdowns are currently running, supported by online and out-of-home.