Do it for the environment: Craig David champions Trainline with Mother

In February, Mother’s first campaign for Trainline persuaded us that rail travel doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

That claim is constantly up for dispute, so this new campaign takes a safer route and enlists Craig David to talk about the environmental benefits of train travel. The singer has written a song, “Better Days,” with accompanying music video and an OOH campaign to follow.

Jo McClintock, VP brand from Trainline, said: “Taking the train instead of driving creates 70% less CO2 on average. With “I came by train,” our ambition is to inspire better choices for our planet and turn this phrase into brag for when people reach their destination.”

Omar El-Gammal, strategy director at Mother, said: “Environmental scare tactics have run out of track, there’s little point making people feel worse about their actions without giving a positive alternative. This campaign gives a hopeful message about the impact a simple behavioural switch can make. In a nutshell we want to move the debate on from ‘flight shame’ to a more positive ‘train brag’.”

MAA creative scale: we’ll have to wait for the OOH

UPDATE

The OOH is here and it’s earned the campaign a 7 on the MAA creative scale. Craig David is gone, but the environmental message comes across loud and clear — and you can’t argue with it.

Other posters conclude the line “I came by train because…”  with thoughts such as “Better days,” “Polar bears,” and “Melting ice is for G&Ts not ice caps.”