The Campaign Calling Time On True Crime Culture

The rise in popularity of true crime-based media has not escaped charity Missing People, which is on a mission to change the narrative away from turning human tragedy into bingeable entertainment.

In response, the charity has launched the Responsible Narratives Charter as it asks creators to sign up and be more respectful of families when telling the human stories of their missing loved ones.

To communicate that, BBH London and production company Merman were recruited, resulting in a campaign that serves as a reminder of the tragedy of each missing person's story over chasing likes, views and ratings.

The campaign features a central film portraying a writer’s room which discusses some real life cases, featuring Paterson Joseph, Anna Crilly, and Rosie Cavaliero among the cast. That is supported by a series of OOH posters and social media posts designed to look like case files.

The world of crime entertainment was also represented through the release of an "unmissable" boxset of the "Top Five Cases You Won’t See On TV". These were sent to influencers and press, containing nothing. That aimed to convey the message that the cases that do feature in the media are often empty because society focuses on the ‘perfect’ story, rather than focussing on all missing people cases.

The campaign has also caught the attention of British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Stephen Ledger-Lomas, BBH London’s chief production officer, takes some questions on the development and earlier response to the initiative which kicked off at the end of March.

Creative Salon: How did BBH and Merman get involved with Missing People? 

Stephen Ledger-Lomas: BBH already had a relationship with PR agency Hope & Glory who contacted us on behalf of Missing People in late 2024. 

BBH Strategy arrived quite quickly at the core insight for the campaign : the more we turn to trauma for entertainment, the more passive we’re becoming to reality. We consume it for pleasure without really thinking about the humans behind the stories. Missing People don’t care if a case is entertaining, they think every person and every family deserves the same level of care and respect.

A key reference for the creative teams was the fly on the wall documentary: '6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park'. It offers a rare glimpse of a real writer’s room working at pace. The flippancy and the callous language provoked a strong creative idea: what would a writer’s room look like for a Missing Persons documentary or show? The team met with seasoned comedy writer Shyam Popat when they were developing the script itself, alongside doing reams of research on the hierarchy and rules of these rooms. Right from the offset they wanted an experienced writer watching the final film to think it entirely believable. 

The key then was going to be to find a director and production company that could make this a reality. I first spoke to Siobhan Murphy, partner at Merman Branded, in June 2025 after we had already been on quite a long creative development journey. I pitched the idea to her before we had a full script and she was immediately struck by the power of the concept. She was on board before I’d finished explaining it. 

Merman is a rare beast as they sit at the intersection between incredibly high-calibre scripted TV and film, and commercials. After speaking to Siobhan, we pitched the idea to Merman founder Sharon Horgan that summer and it resonated deeply. Rachel Stubbings was put forward as the director, and from the first meeting with her we knew we had hit gold.

Rachel knows comedy writing and writers’ rooms like few others and was able to straddle a tightrope of authenticity, humour, and raw emotion, whilst being sensitive to the subject matter and families.

Where did the idea to focus on true crime podcasts come from? 

True crime is a staple of our media diet. In fact, 49 per cent of Brits watch it every single day. So, after talking to Missing People and understanding their world, true crime stood out as the perfect vehicle to communicate a pretty complex message. 

We learned that the charity faces a massive daily challenge: the way society fixates on "entertaining" or "marketable" cases while completely ignoring others. We also saw that when these stories are told, they are often handled in a salacious, harmful way that loses all respect for the loved ones left behind.

Based on a True Story was our way of holding a mirror up to all of us. We wanted to take something hugely relatable and use it as a hook to tell a story that actually matters.

It absolutely wasn’t limited to podcasts, in fact the fictitious writer’s room that we join in the film could apply to many forms of entertainment. One of the TV reporters we spoke to in the aftermath of the campaign’s launch told us that when she first saw the film it felt exactly like she was in her own newsroom. She recognised the language, the shuffling of tragic details to find the best hand. There is a desensitization of the material once it is being evaluated for entertainment. But these are real people, and real families. 

What were the main challenges of writing the film to make a very serious point? 

The hardest part of the execution of the film was to strike a note between something which felt authentic to the reality of a writer’s room, whilst also being darkly comedic with the subject matter. Over the course of the development of this project we all came to know every detail of these heartbreaking stories, and some of the families themselves.

Allowing the viewer to be entertained and even to laugh, was so vital to the message of the film. It made the reveal of the real families being present in the room throughout hit so much harder. It was written and directed to feel like you are watching a show, before it breaks the fourth wall, and the viewer’s heart.  

Were families involved in the development process? 

BBH, Merman and Missing People met with the families that were to appear in the film a long time before the shoot, and we were closely guided by the amazing Missing People team and their safeguarding process from the first presentation to the final edit approval. Rachel was a key part of the later development of the script, and was also acutely sensitive to how hard it is to find comedy in the dark recesses of these stories. 

One of the hardest moments for Rachel was when Nerissa, Evidence and Kevin (the families) arrived on set towards the end of the shoot day. She had to create an atmosphere which allowed the actors to express themselves and find darkly comedic moments, but was also so aware of the nightmare these families are living through. The families were so supportive of the campaign throughout and wanted it to tell their stories without any softening of the message. 

How did the cast get involved? 

Rachel Stubbings and Merman. Merman cast the film and did the most extraordinary job. Rachel has worked in the industry at the highest level for a number of years and knew or had collaborated with a number of the actors that she brought in to this project. Each and every actor brought the most incredible energy to this film. They all cared deeply about the charity, the missing and their families and we could not have dreamed of a better cast. I have to pay particular respect to our Merman producer, head of production Alicia Farren. She worked tirelessly with limited means to produce a film which looks like it would live effortlessly on Netflix. 

How have you utilised media to convey the message of what is a media issue? 

A key part of the concept is to hold a mirror up to society’s obsession with true crime entertainment, but we are not aiming at anyone specifically. Both producers and consumers of this content have a responsibility to be aware of how these stories impact the missing and their families. The campaign asks everyone to pledge to the Missing People charter. We're asking everyone: members of the public, content creators, and media professionals, to add their voices and help us change the narrative. Everyone can pledge to support Missing People’s Responsible Narratives in treating real stories with real respect. We have received wonderful support from a wide range of media partners, both consumer and trade press. If you are already adhering to the code of ethics Missing People put forward, then it is obviously something you want to shout about. 

What response have you had so far? Have any podcasters responded at all? 

The response has been astonishing. The film itself has had over 110,000 organic views on YouTube in just five days and has received widespread media attention, as well as the endorsement of Sir Keir Starmer via the Daily Mirror’s extensive support of the campaign. In the build up to launch we e-mailed a fairly large cross section of true crime podcasters to inform them of the campaign and had nothing but positive sentiment from them. Some have actively showcased the film or the DVD boxset we produced to launch it, and we are talking to a number of them now about taking the pledge. 

What's next for the campaign? 

This campaign has struck a nerve with the media and the public. We want to push the Responsible Narratives pledge as far as it can go and have all major media outlets and broadcasters sign up. MP Melanie Ward has also publicly supported the campaign and we are asking her to go one step further and raise it at PMQs to bring this to even wider public attention.

The most important focus for BBH, Hope & Glory, Merman, Work Editorial, Black Kite, 750mph and all of the brilliant partners that brought this campaign to life is the families. 

I’ll finish with a message from Evidence Joel, Mother of Richard Okorogheye, who was sadly found deceased at age 19 in 2021. After watching the film, she said: “It’s so powerful. People should think about the ones left behind. It’s so hard on us. Richard isn't just a story - he is and always will be my son.”