St Luke’s uses insults thrown at South Western Railway staff in new campaign to tackle abuse

South Western Railway (SWR) is launching an Out of Home campaign highlighting some of the verbal abuse its workers have been subjected to by agitated customers.

The campaign, “Abuse stays with our staff”, was devised by creative agency St Luke’s and the work ran on all owned poster sites across the SWR network in the south and south-west of England from 4th March.

St Luke's brief was to encourage non-abusive behaviour towards SWR colleagues and, in doing so, alleviate the long-term impact insulting words have on them. It followed research into the experiences of SWR colleagues, where workers shared stories of the abuse they had received and how it has affected them and their lives.

The creative captures moments of everyday life, for example making a cup of tea, preparing soup, taking a shower, and returning home from work, shot through a POV lens. It also features the abusive words that the protagonists have had thrown at them at work, including phrases such as “you absolute moron", “you dumb cow”, and “you stupid old fool”.

The powerful visual representation highlights how harsh words said to staff can creep up on them and stay with them for a long time afterwards.

All four executions feature the words “The thoughtless abuse given to our staff can stay with them. BE KIND.”

Richard Denney, joint CCO at St Luke’s said: “People travel by train for a variety of reasons and sometimes when they are feeling stressed or are wrapped up in their own problems, they don’t always realise that what for them is a throwaway comment said in a moment of frustration can really hurt someone. The aim of this campaign is to make people stop and think about how their words can affect others.”

Credits

Advertiser/Brand: South Western Railway
Client: Peter Williams, Customer & Commercial Director, Ian Humphreys, Senior Campaigns Manager, Alexandra Baker, Campaigns Manager
Campaign title: Abuse stays with our staff
Creative Agency: St Luke’s
Joint Chief Creative Officer: Richard Denney
Head of Art & Design: Pete Mould
Creative Team: Jord Morris & Danny Jones
Creative Producer: Christine Sibthorp
Chief Strategy Officer: Dan Hulse
Business Director: Barnaby Kelly
Account Director: Naomi Hollowday
Photographer: Stephen Ambrose
Retouching: Richard Green
Media: South Western Railway owned sites