2 in 5 young women have been sexually harassed or assaulted at festivals or gigs, meaning thousands of women each year are experiencing unwanted acts besides those on the stage.

Historically, the onus has been put on women to keep themselves safe, but as the UK returned to live music events in the Summer of 2021, White Ribbon UK wanted to use this opportunity to spark change. They wanted to ask men to become allies and evaluate their own behaviour and that of their friends.

We created a campaign that mimicked the visual language of festival posters to draw in our desired audience of young men.

Our powerful message was then delivered via 39 typographical band logos on posters to festivals nobody should have to go to, with each one ultimately asking men to never commit, excuse or remain silent about male violence against women.

The posters went up around The O2 Arena and in train stations across the country as festival goers travelled on the busiest weekends of the Summer.

We wanted to reflect the tropes of different musical genres in order to draw people into the work before delivering our message.

At first sight the type looks to be that of authentic festival posters, but look closer, and you realise that the bespoke band logos are telling another story. The imagery and illustrations in the posters work in a similar fashion, as the more you look the more hints you see to the reality of attending live music as a young woman.

These techniques are used across 4 different genres of festival poster to engage a wide spectrum of our target audience that might otherwise overlook this issue, as well as their ability to make a difference.

Each poster ultimately asks our male audience to make the White Ribbon promise: to never commit, excuse or remain silent about male violence against women. The QR code at the bottom takes people to the White Ribbon UK website to make the promise, something that over 38,000 people have done.

The campaign attained over 7.2 million impressions at vital times, both as our audience travelled to festivals and whilst they were at events. This put our message at the forefront of their minds when it mattered most.

In response to the campaign, women shared their own stories on social media, as men vowed to evaluate their behaviour and that of their friends. Also, The O2 Arena and Fabric nightclub committed to increased training of their security staff to make their venues a safer space for women.