The UK is currently facing a knife crime epidemic. Barely a week goes by without a story in the news about another young person, often living in an inner-city, having their life taken by a knife.
Urgent action is needed to reach out to this marginalised group. But how?
These are kids that don’t consume traditional media, instead preferring to spend their time on peer-to-peer networks which are hard to insert messages into.
There is, however, one place where they do spend hours every day – the video game, FIFA.
This is a story of how a talented young footballer’s tragic death at the hands of someone carrying a knife in 2006 became the basis for an anti-knife crime campaign like no other, featuring the world’s largest sports video game, cutting-edge deep-fake technology and a father who has turned personal tragedy into a powerful voice for change.
Engine Creative is a full-service creative agency that helps forward-thinking brands grow by connecting how they communicate and deliver on their brand promise. We harness the power of creativity to solve business challenges and fuel positive growth through a combination of advertising, digital experiences and innovation; content, social and influencer marketing. Engine Creative is part of Engine Group, the UK’s largest independent marketing, communications and consultancy company.
This was a project created by David Dearlove and Richard Nott. It involved a collaboration between scientists at the University of Bradford and VFX company Framestore, and was brought to life through the help of third parties including FIFA, Adidas, JD Sports, QPR and Topp’s Cards.