Trainline ad wants to help the planet with bums on seats
The train booking platform has launched a cheeky new campaign film and outdoor ads in collaboration with Glenn Kitson and Asim Chaudhry
Trainline’s new campaign, Bums on Board, highlights the power of the nation’s bums when it comes to making greener choices. Instead of sitting in a car, the train booking platform is calling on the public to get their bums on train seats instead.
Created by Dept, the campaign is brought to life in an ad narrated by actor, writer and comedian Asim Chaudhry, best known for his role as Chabuddy G in People Just Do Nothing and the Kurupt FM universe.
The ad is the latest instalment in Trainline’s brand platform I Came By Train, which kicked off in 2022 with an animated spot starring an Craig David and set to an original track by the singer.
Whereas that conjured wondrous, surreal images of train travel, the new ad by Dept is a little grittier thanks to director Glenn Kitson serving up his usual blend of chaos and humour. It’s a tone that inadvertently feels more in keeping with the real experience of train travel today than most train ads, which tend to gloss over the fact that public transport journeys in the UK are often less than peachy.
The campaign also involves a series of eye-catching print and outdoor ads expanding on the film’s collaged elements and cheeky script, with pun-laden copy.
It’s not the first time climate change has been linked to rear ends, with Channel 4’s award-winning Change Climate campaign using skidmarks as a metaphor for big oil.
