News / 25 Sep 2025
Marketing Communications graduate sparks conversation with National Rail campaign, ‘On the Train You Can’
BA (Hons) Marketing Communications
BA (Hons) Creative Advertising (now BA (Hons) Marketing Communications) graduate Lucy Matthews has sparked conversation with recent National Rail campaign, 'On the Train You Can'.
After graduating, Lucy began her first role at Digital Natives, where she met copywriter Amalie Bleakley. They quickly teamed up as a creative duo and together they have collaborated on campaigns including Oak Furnitureland’s ‘Grow Your Home’, NS&I’s ‘Savings Awareness’ OOH campaign, The King’s Trust ‘Start Something’ social campaign, and just recently, ‘On the Train You Can.’
Lucy and Amalie won the National Rail campaign by responding to an open brief by Rail Delivery Group. Lucy tells us they were drawn to the brief because the strategy focused on the emotional benefit of train travel. Both worked as creatives on the campaign as part of agency TMW, Lucy as an Art Director and Amalie as copywriter.
'On the Train You Can' aims to show how travelling by train is a way to reclaim quality time for what matters.
"On a train you enter a bubble - a space where you can give your children your full attention in a way you never could behind the steering wheel; finally book that long-promised trip with friends; or sit opposite someone and connect on a deeper level that goes beyond just small talk. We wanted the campaign to capture these unexpected and meaningful moments rather than focus on a hard sell. It was about showing how the “in-between” minutes and hours of a journey can turn into moments that really matter."
Lucy Matthews, BA (Hons) Creative Advertising graduate
Rail Delivery Group (RDG), the membership organisation that works on behalf of the rail industry, launched the integrated campaign as part of the rail industry’s National Marketing strategy developed by the rail industry’s customer and revenue growth team.
The campaign video features a Grandmother telling her Granddaughter the story of how she met her husband, and them bonding over a cheeky detail. The tagline reads: “Getting to know Gran before she was Gran. On the train you can.”
“The Creative Advertising course at Leeds Arts University gave me the foundations I needed to start my career in advertising. It taught me how to come up with ideas that connect with people, challenge perceptions, and keep pushing an idea until it’s the best it can be. I’m proud to have worked on this campaign. It was a huge team effort to bring it to life, and I’m grateful to TMW Unlimited for believing in our idea. It’s exciting to see it out in the world - hopefully more to come.”
Lucy Matthews, BA (Hons) Creative Advertising graduate
“It’s not every day you get a creative idea so beautifully simple."
Ben Liam Jones, ‘On the Train We Can’ video director, Merman
&w=3840&q=75)