Toyota, dentsu Thailand turn Bangkok street into memorial for speeding victims

One of the city’s busiest roads in Thailand has been transformed into a visceral reminder of what speeding takes away. In a new campaign, Toyota Motor and dentsu Creative Thailand have reimagined Siam Square Soi 5 as a public installation site dubbed “checkpoints of loss” - each checkpoint a direct confrontation with the grief, guilt, and irreversible consequences of road accidents.

The campaign, titled “Save speeding loss”, comes with a message: the faster you go, the faster you lose. Unlike typical road safety PSAs, this one doesn’t rely on statistics or scare tactics. It leans into emotional storytelling - visually and physically - in spaces drivers know well.

At the heart of the campaign are three installations. The Dungeon of Guilt puts visitors inside the mind of a driver who caused a fatal accident, confronting them with the burden of lifelong remorse. The Last Second recreates the final, harrowing moment experienced by a speeding victim. Meanwhile, the Gallery of Loss showcases the raw grief of families left behind, making personal tragedies impossible to ignore.

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And the campaign didn’t stay in the capital. In Khon Kaen - a northeastern hub far from the skyscrapers - “Save speeding loss” extended itself across radio, billboards, and street-level installations near places such as Maliwan Intersection and Ton Tann Market.

“For 36 years, Toyota has persistently campaigned for road safety in Thailand,” said Sirivit Preechasut, general manager of Toyota Motor Thailand. “This year, we wanted to go beyond awareness and create a deeply human experience. Dentsu Creative Thailand has successfully helped us to execute our vision by bringing these checkpoints of loss to life. We believe true awareness comes from empathy, and this campaign allowed us to show how the pain of speeding is not isolated - it affects everyone.”

Road safety in Thailand is not a distant issue. The country consistently reports among the highest traffic-related fatality rates in Asia. And yet, campaigns often fall into the trap of either overwhelming with statistics or leaning on fear. This one chose intimacy.

“When it happens, it leaves behind more than just broken vehicles - it leaves shattered lives,” said Kongsak Chiamsakol, executive creative director of dentsu Creative Thailand. “Our goal was to create a shared moment of reflection, not fear. By making loss visible and tangible in everyday spaces, we hoped to spark real change in driver behaviour and emphasise that the consequences of speeding ripple far beyond the driver alone.”

The campaign made a strong showing across platforms, particularly TikTok, where it resonated with younger Thai drivers, dentsu said. But unlike many digital-first safety efforts, “Save speeding loss” didn’t ask viewers to look at their screens. It asked them to look around.

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