Why The Home Office #KnifeFree Chicken Box Campaign Failed

The Home Office came under criticism when it launched it’s #KnifeFree Chicken Box campaign which shared real life stories of young people who had stopped carrying knives. It was a campaign designed to reduce the knife crime across England and Wales but was met with backlash as being inauthentic and using stereotypes to highlight real issues. I shared some thoughts on PRWeek:

Chicken shops are a gathering place for young people and though some segments of the target demographic do frequent chicken shops, it is highly unlikely that this campaign will be effective. If those who were in involved in the design and planning of this campaign were to truly pay attention they would know that this type of campaign would have very little impact. An on-the-nose campaign like this simply distracts us from the issues at hand. The execution of the PR and comms around this was clunky, condescending and inauthentic; I say inauthentic as it would appear that the advertising and marketing companies who designed it are not very diverse.

Read full piece here.