VMLY&R and DVLA launch tax evasion campaign

DVLA and VMLY&R London have launched a visually striking campaign to disrupt vehicle tax evasion.

The work, "Hard to hide, Easy to tax", created by brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R, illustrates outlandish ways in which people might try to hide their car to avoid taxing it, while relaying how much easier it is just to tax a vehicle. These hyperboles represent untaxed vehicles across the country that are, in fact, easily spotted by the DVLA.

With more than 40 million vehicle records across the UK, over 98 per cent of vehicles are taxed correctly. However, within this number there are still motorists who break the law (1.9 per cent).

“We work hard to drive down vehicle tax evasion and the vast majority of motorists are already doing the right thing and are taxed correctly. By showcasing the exaggerated efforts of motorists attempting to hide from taxing their vehicles, we have been able to emphasise that avoiding vehicle tax is not worth the risk,” said Liz Rees, head of external communications at DVLA.

“Hard to hide, Easy to tax” is the latest instalment in a long-running series of DVLA enforcement campaigns. The 2022 work signifies a shift in strategy, moving away from the sterner, no-nonsense messaging of recent years, to a more humorous, yet firm tone that still highlights the cut and dried realities of enforcement.

“This year we wanted to adopt a different tone to the vehicle tax reminder campaign and chose to focus attention onto how challenging it is to hide an untaxed vehicle from the DVLA. Our new work uses wit and charm to deliver a reminder that it’s not worth the risk in a powerful and insightful way,” said Mark Roalfe, chairman at VMLY&R London.  

Photographed by Taylor Wessing portrait prize winner David Stewart, the campaign will run across OOH and print, with additional supporting assets including social, radio and an online film.