In 2015, ŠKODA Spain and Proximity Barcelona launched a social project focused on mobility with their Cannes Lions award-winning '70 Guardians of Winter' campaign. 'The Desert Cowboys' is the second instalment of the brand’s initiative to halt isolation, cementing its commitment to combating this serious issue affecting Spain.
This time, ŠKODA has chosen to help the villages of the Tabernas Desert (Almería, southeastern Spain), a region that became famous in its heyday as a location for filming spaghetti westerns – a glamorous past that contrasts starkly with its present day situation.
'The Desert Cowboys' is a series of branded content videos– paying homage to the region’s glorious past and explaining its current problem with isolation – with the aim of generating public support for creating a 21st century stagecoach service to reconnect the desert’s villages.
The project aims to extend its scope far beyond Almería and Spain, as its end goal is to make people aware of the global problem of isolation in rural areas, an issue that affects thousands of villages all over the world. An English version of the project has also been developed and will be launched across the Czech brand’s various markets.