"If you're not with me...":
For this brief we were put into teams and given a topic to either argue for or against and to create an advertising campaign out of this, our topic was to create an argument for CCTV.
The Concept:
After researching many different statistics and figures we came to the conclusion that we could not take a factual aproach to this as the facts were simply against us. Instead we decided to simply put a friendly face behind the cameras, we wanted to be frank, we weren't prepared to hide the fact that we are seen on CCTV cameras hundreds of times a day, we wanted to say "yes you are seen on cctv everyday... but what makes your life so special that someone would want to actively watch you". This lead to the idea that CCTV is a modern day detective, and what better faces to put behind these cameras than Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, they're friendly, trustworthy, and it doesn't avoid the fact that your going to be on camera, it simply nudges to the fact that someone as trustworthy as these characters will be on the other end of the camera. We knew that we were not going to change the minds of the die hard CCTV hater, what we wanted to achieve was to make CCTV comfortable or acceptable to those who sit on the fence or that possibly feel uneasy by CCTV's presence.
The Outcomes:
We decided to advertise this concept using guerrilla tactics to avoid it looking like a government campaign, our thinking was that if you see a polished clean design at the bus shelter with a council logo in the corner you are far more likely to disregard the message and label it as the government feeding us lies. We also wanted this to be an answer to all the anti CCTV graffiti messages you find around a city, it has a sence of irony that these ads will be spraypainted in the style of those who hate it so much. It makes the message stand out more and seem more believable.
We also decided to create an event which would travel to different cities in britain which would sell merchandice, exhibit artwork related to the cause, and showcase an interactive piece of artwork where you can get your photo taken with Sherlock Holmes and appear on a projected screen (via a CCTV camera around the corner) which Sherlock will be studying, adding to the idea of "you didn't think Sherlock did it all by himself did you?". This is adding an element of fun and playfullness to CCTV.
Sherlock studying video footage from the CCTV camera round the corner. The copy reads: "You didn't really think Sherlock did it all by himself did you?"
Concept drawing showing the installation piece with sherlock watching the footage from the CCTV camera round the corner. Gives the viewer the oppertunity to get a photo with sherlock and appear on his big tv screen.
Merchandice to be sold at the event would be: screen printed posters, t-shirts, and buttons. Postcard handouts will also be given out when you leave the event.
