BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — During the end of the year holiday season, many Belgians are driving to their holiday destination. To raise awareness among these drivers to be careful on the road and to reduce speed in the sometimes-difficult winter conditions, the association Parents of Road Victims (OVK-PEVR) placed several rooms of children who fell victim to road accidents symbolically on Booking.com.
Naturally, these rooms are not for rent. And there’s a good reason why.
Philippe Fass, Creative Director at Happiness Brussels: “When parents lose a child in a road accident, they often leave their bedroom the way it was the day their child left for the last time. It is one of the most tangible memories parents can have. The unchanged nature of the room means they can still feel the presence of their child. Now that many people will be travelling on holiday, we are putting some of these rooms on Booking.com as a symbolic act to make the link between travelling, booking rooms, and driving carefully.”
The poignant awareness campaign consists of a documentary in which the parents talk about the room of their deceased child, a website www.emptyrooms.be and of course the rooms themselves on Booking.com. The campaign is also being supported and spread via family and travel influencers.
The campaign was conceived and created by Belgian creative consultancy agency Happiness, an FCB affiliate.
