Community-led organisation, Justice4Grenfell, wanted to protest the lack of progress being made in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, in which 71 men, women, and children lost their lives. At the crux of this campaign, Justice4Grenfell aimed to communicate to the public that, eight months on from the fire, key issues were being downplayed or ignored.

With this goal in mind, Electric Glue created a smart media strategy to direct the public’s attention back to the fire and help amplify Justice4Grenfell’s call for change. The media strategy was designed to propel BBH Labs’ creative idea, which took inspiration from one of 2018’s most prominent films, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The much-discussed stunt involved three billboards parading through central London with the striking message: ‘71 DEAD, AND STILL NO ARRESTS? HOW COME?’

A challenge for the media approach was how to replicate the billboards from the film. In the absence of three consecutive 96 sheet poster sites in an appropriate site and the borough council’s stance on not allowing the display of any comms that could deem to be political, Electric Glue opted for an inventive and time-efficient solution: three roving advertising vans. The practical and reactive strategy expanded the stunt’s reach further, allowing the mobile vans to be driven from Parliament, through key locations in central London, finishing its course at the Grenfell site. As a result, it made an impression on far more people, generating greater engagement.

The results of ‘Three Billboards Outside Grenfell Tower, London’ demonstrate the power of media to make ideas powerful. The initial results show the highly visible stunt leading to a staggering 140 global news stories, 6.5 billion impressions, and the equivalent media value of £91 million. 

So far, the 156,000 plus signatures for a petition calling for a more diverse Grenfell panel have secured a Parliamentary debate on the issue. It was even deemed a ‘new global protest method’ by The Guardian and moved Frances McDormand (who played the central character of Three Billboards) to highlight the movement at the Oscars, saying: ‘Billboards still work’.