Levens tot Stilstand
For the first time ever, every railway company in the Netherlands joined forces for a campaign to prevent suicide: Levens tot Stilstand (Lives come to a standstill). This collaboration is unprecedented worldwide, underlining the importance of the issue.
The campaign was more than 2.5 years in the making. In 2025, a new strategy was crafted, and we started with a clean slate to create an entirely new concept.
Client: Spoorsector Nederland & 113
Creatives: Mark Steenbeek & Sabrina Beek
Research & strategy: Thijs Jaski & Roen Roomberg
Insight
Every suicide affects an average of 135 people. On the railway, that number can reach thousands: from train drivers and passengers to the people tasked with removing the body from the tracks, police officers and emergency responders. Countless lives are brought to a standstill, even if only for a moment. This was the insight at the heart of our campaign.
But if you want to prevent suicide, you need to understand the ‘why’. Through conversations with people with lived experience and extensive research, we saw one fact emerge time and time again: for people with suicidal ideation, the perception of reality is affected by a painful disconnect. They feel like a burden and believe they aren’t worthy of help. Reaching out becomes harder, even when they need help the most.
And while people around them may sense that something is wrong, they're often afraid to ask the question that matters most: “Are you really okay?”
Reality Check
In a deeper-dive layer of our campaign, we wanted to put our money where our mouth is: show that talking helps. Unexpected duo’s, like a person with lived experience and a train conductor, but also bereaved loved ones and ProRail employees talked about their varying experiences in open, honest and raw conversations.