DVLA's Striking Photographs Ensure Drivers Tax Cars on Time

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) today announces its new campaign to reduce illegal vehicle tax evasion and discourage drivers from risking driving an untaxed vehicle.

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

“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. Media planning is led by Bray Leino with media buying from Manning Gottlieb OMD.