Direct Line's office unstationary

British insurance company Direct Line for Business has launched this clever campaign, developed by Saatchi & Saatchi , which encourages tradespeople to protect their businesses against tool theft. 

The film, directed by The Glue Society through Biscuit Filmworks, opens in an office, and introduces a plumber named Joe. The camera then pans wider, to reveal that Joe is not in an office at all – instead, he’s transformed the back of his van to look like one. 

The concept behind the creative evolved from the idea that a tradesman’s van is his office; he makes his calls, eats his lunch, and does his paperwork there. So why do criminals who steal from vans receive, on average, half of the custodial sentence than they would if they broke into an office? 

Franki Goodwin, CCO, Saatchi & Saatchi, said: “Turning Joe’s van into an office was an exercise in the ridiculous but it had an important message at its core – for tradespeople, vans really are like offices, but they’re not legally protected in the same way. We hope that our unlikely transformation helps to highlight the extent of this issue."