Gang life is a dead end.

Youth at risk are lured to gang life because of the sense of belonging, power and money. Everything is not always as it appears.

The Challenge

The number of kids considering joining a gang or have already done so, are on the rise in Calgary. Kids risk death, jail or serious bodily harm for what? Money, power and sense of belonging often drive troubled youth to the gang life. The reality is however, they become a pawn in a dangerous game of winners and losers, where the only ones with any chance of winning are the gang leaders themselves. The Calgary Police Service needed to communicate the dangers and realities of joining a gang to those young people that could still be reached. They needed a strong message and the tools that could deliver it with impact.

The Solution

The bottom line is... if you are in a gang, you will either end up dead, in jail or seriously injured if you don't get out now or change the people you are hanging with before it's too late. The campaign line "Get a life", speaks to the typical 10-15 year old male who is searching for purpose and belonging. It is meant to be a positive spin on a negative message. The campaign was supported by posters distributed to schools as well as a hard hitting interactive website that used actual case files of crime scenes to communicate its point. The site itself has stirred an enormous amount of buzz and people are certainly talking, which was the desired result.