The facts are clear: Transport by car and plane creates over half of the UK’s CO2 emissions, and train travel produces 67% less pollution than car travel. Taking the train is undeniably a greener choice. 

As easy as that may be to understand, getting people to change their behaviour is rarely that simple. Many factors, from convenience to habit to the perception that “one journey won’t make a difference,” all stand in the way. To shift deeply embedded travel beliefs and practices, Trainline needed more than facts. It required a fresh take on sustainability itself. 

That’s exactly what I came by train has set out to do. In 2022, we teamed up with Trainline to launch the movement’s creative debut: a rallying cry to use railways, an emotional, unifying call for people to reconsider how they get from A to B. The national campaign, featuring a song from Craig David and key partnerships with Glastonbury and Premier League clubs, has already contributed to over 30,000 people pledging to switch a journey from car to train. 

Fast forward to 2024, and we were thrilled to return for the next evolution and the opportunity to recruit more climate heroes to take the I came by train pledge. The brief was clear: Reach more people, cut through the climate comms clutter, and keep the message as simple and powerful as ever.

The answer? A campaign so utterly transparent in its call to action, it could only be summed up one way: Get Your Bum on Board. Because if all it takes to help save the planet is sitting on your arse, who could say no? 

If the goal was to inspire real behaviour change, we knew we had to make it feel doable, even effortless. So we anchored the campaign around the single, powerful idea that one small switch can have a massive collective impact. If everyone in the UK swapped just one 200-mile car journey for a train ride, the reduced emissions would not just be meaningful; they’d be movement-making.

But the world is already saturated with sustainability messaging—much of it dominated by a tone of fear, guilt, and overused tropes. To truly capture people’s attention, we needed to reframe the narrative to make climate action feel empowering instead of overwhelming. Playful, not preachy. And most importantly, radically relatable.

That meant leaning all the way into British culture: the dry wit, the self-deprecating humor, the ability to make a serious point by not taking ourselves too seriously. The bum became our unlikely climate hero. Cheeky? Absolutely. But also disarming, digestible, and impossible to ignore.

With a strategy rooted in simplicity and humor, DEPT® and Trainline set out to execute a campaign that didn’t just shout about sustainability. It made it feel easy, immediate, and kind of hilarious … exactly the kind of energy we needed to move people from awareness to action.

At the heart of the campaign was a hero film: an unapologetically cheeky, rousing manifesto voiced by none other than Asim Chaudhry, the beloved British comedian known for People Just Do Nothing, Taskmaster, and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Asim brought the warm, funny, irreverent, and totally relatable tone we needed. Because when he tells you your “jiggly climate hero” can help save the planet, you listen.

Visually, we leaned into a punk-era energy that would stand out among conventional climate-focused graphics. Working alongside director Glenn Kitson and the analog craft studio ANA Projects, we created a visual system that felt hand-built and high-impact. Bright, clashing colors. Torn paper edges. Ripped textures. It was the opposite of polished—and that was the point. The campaign needed to feel like it came from the people, not a corporation.

We rolled out the work across:

• Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, driving video views and engagement
• The I came by train website as the central hub for the movement
• Press and PR for amplifying the message through headlines as bold as the visuals

But we didn’t stop there. To further boost Trainline’s reach and embed the I came by train movement into culture, we partnered with a crew of creators dubbed our “ambASSadors.” Their role? Stitch the manifesto into their own content and give it a life beyond paid placements. The results were hilarious, authentic, and shareable.

From the script to the stitches, our execution didn’t pull any punches. It was loud. It was layered. It was proudly ridiculous. And it worked, because when you treat your audience like they’re in on the joke, they’re more likely to take action.

Beyond the metrics, Trainline’s Bums on Board helped reframe what sustainability messaging can look and feel like. It proved that you don’t have to be somber to be taken seriously. You don’t have to guilt people into caring. And you definitely don’t have to sacrifice creativity to make an impact.

This isn’t a one-off. It’s the next chapter in a long-term platform designed to keep building momentum. I came by train is an ongoing movement with big ambitions for the next decade, and we’re just getting started. From brand campaigns to culture-shifting content, we’re continuing to explore how Trainline can lead the charge toward a more sustainable future—one bum at a time.

Because when climate action looks this good, feels this fun, and requires nothing more than a seat on the train … Why wouldn’t you get on board?