+71,3%

Motivation to take action

+53,1%

Awareness shift

+45,4%

Appointment bookings

Overview

In Germany, poor vision causes around 300,000 traffic accidents every year. For World Sight Day, Mediaplus developed the “Everything's Blurry” campaign for Apollo, Germany's largest optician chain. Traffic light installations, DOOH, a Formula 1 hijack, and Twitch streams blurred everything to raise awareness of eye tests. Result: a 53.1 percent increase in awareness shift.

Challenge

The biggest danger: not seeing it

Germany sees around 2.4 million traffic accidents every year. About 300,000 of them could be prevented with better vision. Unlike many EU countries, Germany has no mandatory health checks for drivers. After the initial eye test during the driving exam, no further checks follow.

A study by the German Ophthalmological Society shows the scale of the problem: 99.2 percent of respondents rated their own vision as good to very good. Yet 16.4 percent failed the eye test that followed. Starting as early as age 25 or 30, vision can change enough to become a hazard on the road.

For Apollo, Germany's largest optician chain, these numbers are unacceptable. Eye tests and consultations are core to the brand's offering. At Mediaplus, our task was to develop a cross-media awareness campaign that would make people of all ages aware of the importance of regular eye tests. How could we stage a message about poor vision so people could experience it firsthand, in traffic?

Solution

Everything's blurry. Across every channel.

For World Sight Day, Apollo developed the message: “The biggest danger in traffic: not seeing it.” The strategy behind it was radically simple. Everything went blurry, really everything, across every channel, in the right places, with a surprise effect.

During rush hour, an oversized film installation (4 by 1.5 meters) surprised drivers at traffic lights. A slightly opaque film blurred everything during the red phase, and a second film revealed the message. On city buses, film applied to the side windows blurred the street scene in real time. At the drive-in cinema, a flyer at the ticket booth grabbed attention, and a cinema spot visually conveyed the danger of undetected vision problems.

To reach the driving-focused “racing” audience, we hijacked Formula 1. A TV spot aired just before the race start in Austin, suggesting the race was about to begin, right before everything blurred. On Twitch, a custom-built blur effect delighted the young gaming community during racing streams. A programmatic multi-channel approach spanning DOOH, social media, and desktop overlay banners generated additional reach. Mediaplus also activated brick-and-mortar retail with window displays, flyers, and trained staff offering the Sehtest PRO eye exam at Apollo stores.

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Awards

#1

1 x Gold | 1x Bronze | IAB

#2

1 x Gold | Internationalist - Digital

#3

1 x GrandPrix | Internationalist - Media Innovation Awards

KEY TAKEAWAYS

#1

Special ad formats work when they let people experience the message firsthand.

#2

Audience-specific channels like Twitch open up new awareness potential.

#3

A consistent creative idea across all channels increases recognition.

More Cases from Mediaplus

About Mediaplus

Mediaplus is one of the largest independent media agencies in Europe and part of the Serviceplan Group — an integrated communications network headquartered in Munich. Founded in 1983, the agency group today brings together around 2,200 specialists across more than 20 wholly owned offices in Europe as well as markets in Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Through partner locations, Mediaplus maintains a presence at 42 sites worldwide. Its service portfolio spans Media Strategy & Innovation, Media Planning & Buying, Data & AI, Performance Marketing, Advertising Technologies, and Commerce & Retail Media. Through its group-wide AI framework House of AI, Mediaplus combines proprietary data models with deep market expertise to deliver measurable brand growth for its clients. Mediaplus has repeatedly been ranked among the leading independent media agencies in both the WARC Media 100 and the RECMA Quality Ranking, and was named Media Agency of the Year at the German Media Awards for the fifth time in 2026.

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Sabrina Duchow
Sabrina Duchow
Mediaplus
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FAQs

Germany sees around 2.4 million traffic accidents every year. About 300,000 of them could be prevented with better vision. Unlike many EU countries, Germany has no mandatory health checks for drivers after the driving exam. A study by the German Ophthalmological Society shows that 99.2 percent of respondents rated their own vision as good, even though 16.4 percent failed the eye test. Starting as early as age 25 or 30, vision can change enough to become a hazard on the road. Regular eye tests help detect such changes early and prevent accidents.

For World Sight Day, Apollo literally blurred everything, across every medium, in the right places. An oversized film installation blurred drivers' view during the red phase at traffic lights, film on bus side windows blurred the street scene in real time, and a spot at the drive-in cinema visually conveyed the danger of undetected vision problems. The activation was rounded out by a Formula 1 TV hijack and a custom-built blur effect on Twitch. At Mediaplus, we connected these experiences with a programmatic multi-channel approach and the activation of brick-and-mortar retail.

The campaign combined physical special ad formats with digital and traditional channels: an oversized film installation at traffic lights, blurred bus side windows, an activation at the drive-in cinema, a Formula 1 TV hijack, and a custom-built Twitch blur effect for the young gaming community. This was complemented by DOOH, social media with relevant contextual targeting, and desktop overlay banners through a programmatic multi-channel approach that generated additional reach and visibility. At the point of sale, the message was brought to life further with window displays, flyers, and trained staff offering the Sehtest PRO eye exam at Apollo, carrying the campaign consistently through the entire funnel.