Metropolitan Police ‘Domestic Violence’ advert

Agency: AMV BBDO

Client: Metropolitan Police

The Met Police and AMV BBDO have launched a new Domestic Violence campaign which encourages ‘bystanders’ to report incidences. This coincides with the World Cup when domestic violence increases by up to 30% nationally. The campaign comprises of radio, press and online films.

Unlike previous domestic violence campaigns which targeted the perpetrator or victim, this Met campaign aims to get friends, family, neighbours and even strangers who might overhear or see incidences of domestic violence to call 999: ‘You make the call, we’ll make it stop’.

By giving the public the opportunity to experience the immediate power of dialling 999 and showing them that the police will take immediate positive action, the Met Police hope to challenge the current barriers to calling, which range from people not feeling the incident is serious enough to warrant an emergency call to believing a domestic violence incident is none of their business.

The campaign has three core elements:

An interactive online film places the viewer in the role of the bystander. Shot from a neighbour’s point of view, the viewer is exposed to a domestic violence incident and asked to call 999 by interacting with the film on YouTube.

If you choose to press ‘999’ the police arrive, intervene and stop the incident before it’s too late. However, if the viewer chooses not to call 999 the incident escalates to the point where a deathly silence pervades the video. The interactive film is supported by pre-rolls, MPUs and Spotify activity, all of which drives viewers to the main YouTube channel.

The radio ad directly combats the barriers to calling 999 by playing back the real life excuses people use not to report such incidences. This is set against the background of a domestic violence incident, which culminates in the fact that nearly 1 in 5 murders in London are the result of domestic violence.

The press and poster executions take the wallpaper motif from the online film and ask the viewer to call 999 if they hear domestic violence.

Ultimately, the campaign demonstrates that bystanders can stop Domestic Violence, by dramatising the immediate effect of a 999 call and by reminding them of the devastating consequences of failing to do so.