Uzbekistan is facing an energy crisis. Frequent blackouts and aging infrastructure leave many streets in darkness. In some areas, streetlights simply do not exist — making pedestrians nearly invisible at night. Every year, more than 2,400 people die in road accidents, including 260 children. Half of these deaths happen after dark.

For Gross Insurance, one of the country’s leading insurers, this became a business problem: nighttime accidents increased insurance claims and reduced profits by 7%. At the same time, Uzum — Uzbekistan’s largest e-commerce platform serving over 10 million users — noticed that 30% of orders were picked up after sunset. Different industries. One shared problem: people disappearing into the dark.

So, we brought two brands together to solve one problem. Instead of waiting years for infrastructure to change, we created The Visible Bag — not another awareness campaign, but a practical solution people would actually use. A reflective shopping bag designed to turn pedestrians into moving road signs.

Made from durable, reusable material and marked with a highly reflective pedestrian crossing symbol, the bag made people visible at night. No behavior change required. No extra effort. Integrated directly into Uzum’s logistics system, it was automatically delivered with online orders — free of charge.

In the first month alone, 10,000 bags were distributed. The campaign reached 18.3 million people — almost half of Uzbekistan’s population — with zero media spend. Gross Insurance not only recovered losses but achieved an 8% profit increase.

Soon, local authorities joined the initiative, scaling it nationwide and introducing the bags into schools. What started as a shopping bag became a national symbol of safety — proving that when brands stop advertising and start acting, they can help save lives.

The streets didn’t become brighter — but the people on them finally became visible.

Agency:

Synthesis

Creative Director – Farrukh Sharif

Client service director (CSD) – Alina Mirzaeva

Creative Director of the Case — Denis Eliseev

Creative copywriter – Sergey Gorobtsov

Creative copywriter – Sadokat Sultanmuratova

Art-director – Timur Aitov

Designer – Vlada Idunova

Designer – Amirxon Isaxanov

Account Manager – Valeriya Shamakova

Account Manager – Darya Gerasimova

Account Manager – Yulia Gerasimova

Client:

Gross Insurance

Client:

Uzum Market

Production:

Lunar

Producer — Bogdan Frolov

Director — Ivan Proskuryakov

Cinematographer — Boris Litovchenko

Line Producer — Aselya Idayatova

Makeup Artist — Nigora Fayzieva

Costume Designer — Luiza Yunusova

Editing Director — Khojiakbar Lutfullakhojayev

On-Set Editor/Editor — Muslim Nassulloyev