Idris Elba fronts stark installation to tackle knife crime

A campaign from Idris Elba’s Don’t Stop Your Future foundation has been launched to raise awareness of increasing levels of youth violence in the UK.

The cross-medium campaign targeted at Government includes a music video that features families of victims as well as an installation in Parliament Square depicting the human cost of knife crime.

With both Parliament returning to office and children returning to school today the installation was unveiled as a stark representation of those lost lives who will not be returning to class.

It features a backdrop of neatly folded outfits, each being the last outfit worn by a victim of knife crime on the UK streets.

 

The campaign is the first from SILLYFACE, the new creative shop founded by Idris Elba and Marc Boyan (Miroma Group).

Attendees outside Parliament at the installation today included Yemi Hughes, mother of Andre Aderemi who lost his life aged 19. She held the clothes worn by her son at the time of his death.

The agency worked closely with Freud’s, Miroma Group company Hyperactive and The Fitting Room to create the campaign.

It includes a nationwide billboard campaign featuring relatives of knife crime victims, with much of the OOH space donated by media owners including Clear Channel, City Outdoor Media and Alight Media.

As part of the campaign, Elba is releasing a new music track to help raise awareness of the issue and to give a voice to those most impacted by knife crime. Knives Down features DB Maz and is produced by the acclaimed Fraser T Smith and FaNaTiX.

The music video was shot by young up-and-coming filmmakers, Abo Raj & Desmond Dakura (MDFilms) who themselves have been affected by knife crime, and partnered with the SILLYFACE team throughout the process.

 

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