Project Trident poster // 'Don't blow your life away'
Year: 2007
Large outdoor poster targeting 13 to 19 year olds in a bid to dissuade them from becoming the gunmen of the future.
News & Press
Don't blow your life away - Trident launches hard-hitting new advertising campaign
Trident launched a powerful advertising campaign targeting 13 to 19 year olds in a bid to dissuade them from becoming the gunmen of the future.
The campaign features radio and TV ad’s produced from real prisoners views to bring the message home: "Don’t blow your life away."
Researchers
visited prisons and spoke with prisoners to get a real perspective on
what they were missing out on most as they served their prison sentences.
This campaign was created from those conversations with Category A murderers
and those serving sentences for attempted murder, robbery and possession
of a firearm, and asks young people to think about the things they would
miss out on if they ended up in prison after committing a crime with guns.
The campaign TV and radio ad’s will appear in targeted media and
a replica of a prison cell will be toured around venues in the five boroughs
of London where gun crime is most prevalent within black communities.
The prison cell will enable young people to get a real perspective on
what it would be like to be in a prison cell, challenging them to think
about all the things they will leave behind if they end up in prison.
The campaign will run for four weeks and has been planned in consultation
with the Trident Independent Advisory Group, which plays a vital role
in helping Trident combat gun crime within the Capital's black communities.
Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Ball, the head of Trident, said:
"We have designed this year’s campaign to encourage young people to think about what really matters to them and what they would not be able to do, or have, if they ended up in a prison cell. We spoke to real prisoners, serving long sentences for gun crime, who expressed regret and frustration at not being able to be with their families or friends. We want young people to stop and think before choosing to become the gunmen of the future.
“Trident is concerned that people are starting to carry guns from an increasingly young age. That is why this campaign is aimed at 13 to 19 year olds in London, especially those living in gun crime hotspots.”
Trident ad campaigns are just one of the ways that Trident reaches young people. The Trident crime prevention team works with schools, colleges, Youth Offending Teams and other partners and since April 2007 have spoken with over 5000 young people.
Anyone with information about gun crime should contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity that guarantees anonymity.
Listen to this campaign's radio and television advertisements:
17 September 2007