A series of commercials feature the horrifying sounds of domestic abuse. A voiceover explains that, while the sounds are distressing, they will continue until listeners dial a given number to have them stopped: ‘Just as in real life, making a call can make it stop.’In association with the Metropolitan Police, the campaign encourages the public to stop domestic violence by calling police whenever they hear it.

In domestic violence, witnesses rarely see the crime – it’s almost always heard. This insight inspired radio as the strongest medium. Our commercials confront listeners with the sound of the crime and then give them the ability to stop it. This innovatively allows listeners who interact to stop the commercials. The series features horrifying sounds of domestic abuse. A voiceover explains that, while the sounds are distressing, they will continue until listeners dial a number to have them stopped: ‘Just as in real life, making a call can make it stop’.The response was instant. So quick that a reminder ad we recorded never aired.

This hard hitting campaign communicated the severity of the issue at the appropriate time, in a media space most appropriate to how people might actually experience the problem: when it is overheard at home.

The Metropolitan Police Service maintains strict confidentiality on statistics regarding calls to 999. But the campaign led the radio station – LBC – to build an hour of domestic violence programming around the commercials. This included editorial, a phone-in with victims of domestic violence, and interviews with the Women’s Aid client and the Met Police Liaison Officer.During the show the presenter mentioned that “The switchboard has been jammed all night” and the show was able to provide direct help to one lady who had never spoken to any charities or the police before despite being in an abusive relationship for 30 years.