In the summer in Boston, as the temperature spikes, so does the crime. Members of the community are reluctant to help police due to the fear of reprisal and mistrust of the police force. This campaign led to an idea that rebuilt trust and opened new lines of communication with the Boston Police Department, reduced violent crime, and maybe even saved lives. After exploring many concepts, the one that rose to the top was a mash-up of an ice cream truck and a police cruiser. On hot summer days, without any warning, the combination ice cream truck and police cruiser would roll into at-risk neighborhoods, heavily armed with fun graphics and free ice cream. Our designers create the 1/2 ice cream truck, half police cruiser. Uniformed police officers handed out free ice cream and custom-printed napkins with copy inviting neighborhood residents to call or text police crime tips anonymously. Community members were invited to follow along at a website we created, operationhoodsiecup.org

The Boston Police Department mashed up an ice cream truck and a police cruiser, that went into at-risk neighborhoods heavily armed with fun graphics and free ice cream.

The campaign built trust, opened new lines of communication and created buzz int he city and around the world. After 30 days, the campaign generated 7.480 Google hits, 2,562 site visits and 4,583 page views with a total budget of only $6,000.