Take Another Look
Client
Capabilities
Date
29/10/2025
Transport for London (TfL) has launched a powerful new road safety campaign, ‘Take Another Look, Not a Life’, designed to change driver behaviour and prevent deaths and serious injuries of riders on London’s roads.
Developed by VCCP in partnership with WPP Media’s Wavemaker UK, the campaign encourages drivers to ‘take another look’ for riders - challenging the common perception that cyclists and motorcyclists ‘come out of nowhere’,and are in fact less visible and more at-risk on the road. According to TfL’s 2023 road safety data motorcyclists are 39 times more likely than car drivers to be killed or seriously injured on London's roads per journey, and cyclists are 13 times more likely.
Grounded in data that identifies failing to look properly as a leading cause of rider collisions, the idea dramatises the importance of simply taking another look - showing how a rider who might otherwise be missed could have been seen with another look. It’s a poignant reminder that taking simple action can save a human life - and that failing to do so could take one.
At the centre of the campaign are two 30” hero films, directed by the award-winning director, Tom Tagholm (known for Channel 4’s Superhumans), through production company Girl&Bear Studios, part of VCCP. Girl&Bear Studios fully managed all aspects of production and brought the campaign to life. Viewers are invited to ‘take another look’ at personal details within a photograph, which gradually shifts into a phone screen at the scene of a collision. The effect reframes these potential incidents into a deeply human loss, delivering a stark reminder of the lives at stake every time someone takes to the road, and the need for drivers to take another look for riders.
The film’s core focus was authenticity, a value shared by VCCP, TfL and director Tom Tagholm, whose deeply collaborative approach shaped the entire production. Extensive research into real-life bike, motorbike, and car collisions included in-depth consultations with the Met Police and recreations of actual crash scenes, down to the specific vehicle damage. VCCP and TfL partnered with the charity RoadPeace to host listening sessions with families who have lost loved ones in road collisions. These stories shaped both the tone and storytelling of the campaign, ensuring the work reflects the real-life consequences of a single moment’s inattention. Real victims' names were displayed on set as a moving reminder of the film’s purpose. Girl&Bear Studios prioritised craft and care - investing in top-tier talent and multiple locations to heighten authenticity at every level.
Wavemaker UK worked closely with TfL on the strategic development, media planning and buying to amplify this behavioural message across every channel. For ‘Take Another Look, Not a Life’, Wavemaker ensured the behavioural insight - the need to look again - was built into the media itself. Radio spots during peak commuting times turn routine listening moments into prompts for reflection and safer driving. Complementing this, special-build out-of-home (OOH) placements will launch during Road Safety Week, using shifting imagery that changes as drivers pass, dramatising the importance of ‘taking another look’. Supporting channels include roadside out-of-home, online video and social.
Running in parallel is ‘Tackling Crime’, an evolution of TfL’s earlier ‘Staff Abuse Has Consequences’. It highlights real cases of crime on the network and the resulting prosecutions - a clear reminder that offences carry consequences.
This campaign supports TfL’s wider strategy to improve safety across the network, which includes enhanced station lighting and CCTV, active enforcement in partnership with the Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police, and ongoing collaboration with community and advocacy groups. To mark National Hate Crime Awareness Week, TfL is also partnering with Protection Approaches - a national charity working to prevent identity-based violence and to deliver more free active bystander training session for the public, funded by Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime’s (MOPAC) Shared Endeavour Fund. Throughout the week, TfL will also host a series of hate crime awareness events across the network, including at Edmonton and Stratford bus stations, and Euston and Waterloo railway stations. The work strikes a balance between showing TfL’s role in enforcement and encouraging Londoners to play theirs.
Miranda Leedham, Head of Customer Marketing & Behaviour Change at TfL, said: “We know that Londoners want to help when they see someone being harassed or abused. This campaign gives them a simple, effective way to do just that – by acting like a friend. Alongside this, we’re reminding everyone that criminal behaviour on our network will lead to real consequences. Together, we can make London’s transport safer and more inclusive for all.”
Zoë Stock, Creative Director at VCCP, added: "This campaign taps into something most Londoners can relate to: wanting to help but not knowing how in the moment. We needed to give people a behaviour that is simple, safe, but most importantly natural. Sharing real ways other Londoners have ‘acted like a friend’ reminds us that we all have the capacity to do the right thing— if we’re equipped with the right knowledge.”
OIiver Halliwell, Client Managing Director at Wavemaker UK, said: “We’re proud to have partnered with TfL on such an important campaign. Advertising has the power to drive positive change, and this campaign brings powerful stories from real Londoners to life to encourage us all to support one another and stand up to hate crime when safe to do so. It’s an important call to action from TfL, empowering people to act and helping make the transport network, and our city, a safer place for everyone.”
The campaign will run from today to 24th November across cinema, digital, social and out-of-home channels.
Alongside this campaign, TfL continues to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to improving road safety across London through a series of complementary initiatives. The recently launched Highway Code campaign raises awareness of the rules designed to protect people walking, cycling, and motorcycling, encouraging all road users to recognise their shared responsibility. The Speed campaign, running at key points throughout the year, motivates drivers to slow down by showing how even minor speeding can have devastating consequences.
TfL also runs Travel for Life, which encourages safer travel among school-age children, and offers free motorcycle training to help riders build the skills needed to protect themselves and others on the road.
Together, these campaigns and training programmes form an integrated approach to reducing road danger - helping drivers look out for those most at risk, encouraging all road users to understand and uphold their responsibilities under the Highway Code, and ultimately driving behavioural change that supports the Mayor’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating all deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads by 2041.
Every death or serious injury on London’s roads is one too many. This campaign is about reminding people to take that extra moment to look again. To see the person, not just the bike or motorbike. Miranda Leedham, Head of Customer Marketing and Behaviour Change at TfL