Case — Midttrafik

Getting young people’s attention by throwing mom under the bus

Like riding with mom – without listening to mom
To get young people excited about public transport, we went straight for the biggest competitor: “mom’s taxi.” The campaign humorously spotlighted how riding with mom means enduring her endless chatter—while the bus offers freedom from parental questions. By teaming up with comedian Jacob Thrane and creating relatable online films, the campaign reached our young audience and boosted engagement with Midttrafik.

Client
Midttrafik

Year
2025
‍
Deliveries
Research and insights
Communication strategy
Creative concept, design and content
Film, stills, print and outdoor
Media planning and buying

The challenge

With new national ticket types for young people, the public transport company Midttrafik needed a fresh campaign concept to promote the benefits of public transportation. But how do you get young people interested in the bus when they overwhelmingly prefer the car?

Focus groups with the target audience confirmed that the strong arguments for public transport weren’t exactly lining up... Because the car doesn’t have a timetable. There’s always room in it, and it takes you right to the door. And, for teenagers, it’s free—since public transport faces tough competition from parents driving their teens around. However, there was one thing that made “mom’s taxi” a little less appealing: Mom! Because when you ride with mom, you also must listen to mom. You’re obliged to talk to her and answer all her prying questions. In fact, that’s one of the reasons mothers love driving their teenage kids. The young people, on the other hand, aren’t quite as enthusiastic.

The solution

That’s why “Mom’s blah blah” became the focal point of the creative concept, while the bus, train, and light rail represent a free space where young people control the conversation themselves.

To make the core message—“Like riding with mom, just without listening to mom”—reach young people, we partnered with comedian Jacob Thrane, using his well-known mom character from social media. This resulted in three online films portraying “Every time mom gives a ride,” and how she ALWAYS follows up with a cascade of embarrassing questions, stories, and comments.

The campaign also features a new, youthful, and graphic universe that both stands out from and clearly references Midttrafik’s normal visual identity, ensuring brand recognition.

The result

The campaign got off to a flying start and is a great example of how it’s possible to create content that young people don’t just scroll past. Not only did we achieve impressive, broad reach, but also a significant amount of time spent with the target audience.

The campaign is ongoing, but the first film already achieved strong results compared to benchmarks after just a few weeks—not least in completion rates:

Views: 1.7 million on Meta and 3.3 million on TikTok
Completed video views: 88,000 on Meta and 63.0000 on TikTok
Average viewing time: 10-11 seconds on Meta and 6 seconds on TikTok