Duracell has highlighted “bitter truths” in a new out-of-home campaign that features its innovative safety feature, coating its lithium coin batteries with a distasteful substance to prevent children from swallowing them.

Created by VML UK, this campaign aims to capture the attention of parents and guardians while reinforcing the US brand’s dedication to child safety.

The visuals, created with children’s illustrators David Litchfield and Maxine Vee, along with 3D animators Arcade Studio, present unexpected twists on ‘bitter truths’ to deliver a strong message about battery safety.

Marco Montanaro, Associate Marketing Director at Duracell: “Child Safety is a key issue for Duracell. We wanted to take a bold approach to communicate this serious message.

The campaign will be delivered through digital out-of-home placements, complemented by a social media strategy to boost awareness of the safety feature. Media planning and buying was handled by EssenceMediacom.

Ryan McManus, Chief Creative Officer at VML UK, said: “People generally ignore safety messages, so we decided to speak in a way that parents of young children wouldn’t overlook.

“We created a set of innocent kids’ illustrations from cartoons and bedtime stories, but within them lies a bitter truth, designed to grab parents’ attention and inform them about this incredible safety feature.”