Detailed research revealed that our target audience (disenfranchised teens who are thinking about carrying a knife) do not listen to messages from authority figures (teachers, government etc). The most influential factor in their lives was discovered to be other kids their age.

So, in order for our message to make a difference, we needed it to come from within our target.With this in mind we organized a creative summit that brought together 18 kids (14-18 year-olds). They were all either victims of knife crime or ex-knife-carriers. We split them into groups and teamed them up with a Creative. Each group was told to make ads that would make people like them think twice before picking up a knife.

They came up with a campaign of hard hitting ads that focus on the horrific consequences of carrying a knife but ultimately offer a message of hope: It Doesn’t Have To Happen. This first aired on the Internet.