Direct Line, "Survive the Horror"

Award-winning writer and director Alice Lowe alongside Saatchi & Saatchi has launched an integrated campaign for Direct Line called 'Survive the Horror', all in time for Halloween.

The Alfred Hitchcock-inspired film follows a young driver who scratched up her car on the way back from the supermarket after realising she forgot to buy cheese. Targeting 17- to 34-year olds, the "Survive the horror" campaign draws on the anxiety experienced by young people as they begin to face mistakes and claims without the help of parents or guardians. 

Making mistakes is part of everyday life, but research has shown that this matters disproportionately amongst 17-34-year olds because it’s the first time they face errors on their own. This audience goes from being covered by their parents or guardians to being a grown-up and having to deal with claims by themselves and coping with stress when things go wrong.

The campaign film which builds on Direct Line’s association with film, following its recent sponsorship of Film on 4, is supported by a 60 cinema cutdown and a series of 6-second social stings spots which bring to life other real life horrors from cracked laptops to lost phones and kitchen disasters.

The film was created by Saatchi & Saatchi, directed by Alice Lowe who is also known for her acting roles in Black Mirror and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and produced by Western Edge Pictures, whose previous films include Third Star, Mr Calzaghe and Rare Beasts.