A social experiment conducted by URBAN on behalf of Holden Cruze has set out to determine the effect of in-car tensions on new relationships.
Putting hopeful singles to the ultimate road test, the experiment was conceived to test the simple hypothesis: “You don’t know someone until you drive with them”. Pitching singles to go on a first date together in the new-look Holden Cruze, it set out to test whether in-car dynamics would make or ‘brake’ their budding romances.
The results were revealed last night at a Holden Cruze event in Sydney where the in-car dates caught on camera were analysed by an expert panel of judges, including relationships expert and psychologist at the University of Western Sydney, Dr Peter Jonason and former Miss Universe Australia, Laura Dundovic.
The dating participants, all experienced speed daters, were unanimous in agreeing that the car provided a helpful extra dimension in which to assess the romantic potential of their date.
Four out of five of the couples complemented each other’s solid driving skills, helping them feel “comfortable” and “safe”. But they also appreciated their date’s ability to stay cool and upbeat in the high-pressure context of driving a new vehicle and meeting a new person for the first time.
Only one of the daters – a male passenger – admitted to feeling “freaked out” when his driver had a close call with another vehicle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBbK8rlfirI
Holden’s director of communications, Sean Poppitt, said that the social experiment was a unique way of communicating the Cruze’s strengths as a connected, feature packed car that would take away some of the tension points that traditionally play up between couples on the road.
URBAN founder and CEO, Gavin McDonough said: “Holden trusted us to do something quite different for the launch of the new-look Holden Cruze, which is what we love about working with them. The cultural insight behind this ‘social experiment’ ensured that the experience was rich for participants, engaging for launch attendees, and entertaining as content. Like the new-look Holden Cruze, it ticked all the boxes.
