Keeping teenagers safe online

Teenagers spend so much of their lives online – and behaviours like talking to strangers and sharing nudes are endemic. This puts them at risk from predators – as well as bullying and isolation when other young people share their images without permission.

That’s why the Internet Watch Foundation came to us: they needed a behaviour change campaign that would genuinely cut through to young people. A campaign that would get teenagers and their parents talking about the issue – and, most importantly, de-normalise nude sharing.

But for so many young people, sharing images online is part of life. So our campaign had to meet them where they are: not shame them, but make them stop and think. And, if needed, get support.

With the sharing of sexual imagery being so normalised, the audience is vast – but our strategy narrowed it down to three groups: victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. We knew that, by creating targeted messaging about specific scenarios, we’d cut through.

But anyone with teenagers in their life knows that, to really get them to listen, you can’t play it safe. That’s why we created a daring campaign that balanced shock with humour – using sexualised fruit to grab attention and communicate consequences.

And so, one very memorable photo shoot later, we had our creative: an unforgettable suite of aubergines, bananas, oranges and lemons that look exactly like the body parts you think of.

‘Think Before You Share’ came to life exactly where teenagers spend their time – Snapchat, Reddit, Twitch and YouTube. We also developed a suite of first-person TikToks, where young people challenge behaviours with simple stories based on real-life scenarios.

But beyond young people, we also needed to reach parents and teachers too – shocking them with the truth about what young people are doing online, and galvanising them into starting conversations about it.

And so, alongside a range of provocative digital creative, we produced ear-catching radio and podcast ads voiced by comedian and actor Diane Morgan – an unforgettable way to bring this issue into the spotlight.

The campaign’s only just launched – so results are coming in thick and fast.

But already, the work has made waves – securing the backing of major social media companies such as Snapchat and TikTok, including the donation pro-bono advertising – proving how vital and timely the campaign is.