THE HOME OFFICE
Research + Activation
The viral public research flash mob that forced the Home Office to revise their approach to youth violence reduction.
The Challenge
In 2019, the Home Office launched the ‘Knife Free’ chicken boxes campaign to tackle youth violence in London, investing £57,000 in distributing boxes with anti-knife crime messages.
However, the campaign faced backlash for perceived insensitivity and racial insinuations, highlighting a disconnect between governmental efforts and the communities they aimed to engage.
The Innovation
In a bold move, we conducted an impromptu survey using locally sourced chicken boxes as our medium in East London. Dressed in chicken suits, our team gathered over 150 handwritten community responses within two hours, probing public opinion on effective strategies to curb youth violence.
Our unconventional flash mob contradicted the Home Office's narrative, demonstrating a genuine grassroots approach to understanding community sentiments. The public engagement highlighted the vast gap between governmental initiatives and community perspectives, gaining significant media attention and public support.
The Impact
Campaign Recall:
The direct impact of our counter-campaign led to the recall of the Home Office’s ‘Knife Free’ chicken boxes, challenging the effectiveness and approach of traditional governmental campaigns against knife crime.
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