V&A and adam&eveDDB spotlight breadth of museum’s collection

The V&A and adam&eveDDB have launched a new campaign to showcase the incredible breadth of the V&A’s permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects, which tell a 5,000 year old story of creativity, spanning every creative discipline.

“If you’re into it, it’s in the V&A” is designed to drive mass re-appraisal and tap into people’s niche passions –from punk to pottery, or stamps to streetwear – to remind people that whatever your interests, you’re bound to find something for you in the V&A.

The campaign is based on the insight that whilst most people have heard of the V&A, fewer people feel familiar with what the museum offers, which is particularly true of younger generations. The work aims to highlight the relevance of the collection and increase visits to the V&A online and in person.

To land the campaign message in a multi-faceted, highly targeted way, the V&A and adam&eveDDB are working with dozens of skilled creators to produce a wide range of unique objects,. each object has been designed to appeal to specific interest groups, from the mainstream to the extremely niche. The objects all come together to form a variety of playful encounters with the V&A. Selected objects will be placed in unknown locations across the UK to be discovered by relevant enthusiasts as they are pursuing their passions, and feature QR codes that link directly to relevant items in the V&A collection.

Among the niche object activations is a silverware stunt, in which a century-old silver tankard engraved with a unique message has been buried in a popular Oxfordshire metal-detecting location; limited edition embroidered pocket squares to be given away at a specialist tailor; and a handmade 2-metre-long battle flag which was displayed by an armoured participant for a battle reenactment group.

Still to come are: an online stunt in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto Online, in which the campaign message will be displayed on the clothing of TikTok influencer Shlottie’s avatar as she broadcasts live on Twitch (13th March); a bespoke knit created by skilled artisan, Onyinye Achusiogu, to be worn at The Stitch Festival (21– 24 March); a London theatre seat featuring a specially engraved plaque; a 120-year-old book that has been painstakingly rebound and will be left on the shelves of a vintage bookshop; and a bespoke 3D animation to be played before a film in the cinema, paying homage to the classic style of production company pre-rolls, and reminding movie-goers that “If you’re into cinema, it’s in the V&A”.

These stunts are complemented by a robust social media presence, including bespoke Instagram films created in collaboration with niche influencers such as @Wainwrightbookbinding, @Me.Old.China, and @hookednbusy, plus TikTok films featuring punks and battle reenactment groups that all work to deliver engaging content across various digital platforms, ensuring broad accessibility and participation.

The campaign also targets niche interests with programmatic display and press ads in specialist publications – reaching people in the places they go to feed their passions.

The hyper-targeted activity is supported by a mass-media push across OOH, press, digital and social media, showcasing 70 objects representing popular passions such as football, music and fashion. Every object featured in these campaign executions links back to real objects in the V&A collection, showing that the museum has every possible interest covered.

Sophie Rouse, Head of Integrated Marketing and Insight at the V&A, commented: “As a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity, our mission is to champion design and creativity in all its forms for everyone. Our new campaign gives space for people to enjoy all the incredible things they are into, with us. We’re not here to define what creativity is, we’re here to give people the space to define it themselves and find joy in doing so. From hyper-niche creative activations to high impact posters, the inclusiveness and versatility of the campaign enables us to tap into popular culture and trends in a highly targeted way. Proving that the V&A really does have something for everyone.”

Mark Shanley, Creative Director, at adam&eveDDB added: “Getting to make creative things for a living is a gift. To make them for the home of creativity is a unique privilege. This campaign positions the V&A as having something in its collection for you no matter what you’re into. What are you into? Football? Fashion? Flappy Bird? Yes, they’re all in the V&A. Jewellery. Yep. Star Wars? Loads of it. The world’s oldest, most beautiful and historically important carpet. Yes, they have that too. And 2.8 million other things. Come to the V&A and see for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.”

To ensure the V&A continues to serve every niche passion, the campaign also features a nationwide recruitment drive, created with Hope&Glory PR, to identify nine new ‘Superfan Advisors’. Selected fans will be joining the ranks of the V&A’s team to share their love and knowledge about their chosen subjects: Taylor Swift, Toby Jugs, Emojis, Tufting, Gorpcore, LEGO, Pokemon, Crocs and Drag. The campaign garnered masses of national media attention, with the V&A becoming a hot topic on BBC News, BBC Breakfast, ITV daytime and national radio stations, as well as gracing the pages of The Metro, The i, The Daily Mail, The Times and going international, by landing coverage across Europe and the USA in Variety and Time magazine. As a result of the enormous interest around the campaign, over one thousand entries for the roles were received via the V&A website.

Media for the campaign was planned and bought by PHD, spanning dynamic OOH, DCO digital display, press and social media. Contextual ads featuring 70 objects from the museum’s permanent collection are running across a number of media platforms, utilising the dynamic creative and optimisation capabilities of Omnicom Media Group’s Adylic to contextually match ads to their relevant environments, such as football, music and fashion. Design agency, SOUP, were responsible for paid social animation, in museum screens and tunnel poster design and production.

Credits

V&A

Sophie Rouse - Head of Integrated Marketing and Insight

Evonne Mackenzie - Head of Design

Francesca Robinson - Deputy Head of Integrated Marketing

Laura Curtis - Marketing Manager

Chris Price - Senior Social Media Manager

Laura McKechan - Head of Communications

Shannon Nash - Communications Manager

Ruwaida Khandker - Marketing Officer

Lisa Bull - Marketing Officer

Shruti Chhabra - Marketing Assistant

Sophie Brendel - Director of Audiences, Commercial and Digital

Philippa Simpson - Director of Design, Estate and Public Programme

adam&eveDDB

Richard Brim - Chief Creative Officer

Antony Nelson & Mike Sutherland - Executive Creative Directors

Mark Shanley - Creative Director

Edward Usher & Xander Hart - Creatives

Chris Chapman - Designer

Molly Johnstone - Social Creative

Sally Pritchett - Joint Head of Integrated Production

Jaki Jo Hannan - Head of Print Production & Experiential

Hannah Needham - Producer

Hazel Corstens - Producer

Harriet Wyndham-Read Sproule - Assistant Producer

Miranda Hipwell - Chief Executive Officer

Tom White - Managing Partner

Alex Murray - Account Director

Carrie Pollock - Account Director

Lydia Barber - Account Manager

Martin Beverley - Chief Strategy Officer

Will Grundy - Head of Planning

Stuart Williams - Senior Planner

Kat Scott-Hyde - Junior Planner

Rachel Geraghty - PR Director

Annabel Barry - Head of New Business

Linda-Aileen MacFarlane - Project Director

Tom Campbell - Legal Counsel

cain&abel

Tara Thompson, Senior Senior Producer

Kim Moessl, Producer

Matthew Walker, Digital Producer

Pata Malecka, Resource Manager

James Ireland, Head of Edit

Adrian Scanlon, Editor

Nitin Rishi, Videographer

Harry Mitchell, Photographer

Honor Northridge Videographer

Robert Whitehead, Photographer

Stephen Mead, Executive Producer of Content

Tony Hutton, Repro & Supply Press, Senior Press Producer

Hope&GloryPR

Don Ferguson - Deputy MD

James Keiller - Associate Creative Director

PHD

Ellie Connett – Planning Manager – PHD

Lauren Port – Client Partner - PHD

Nicola Thorne – Media Print Director - PHD

Zeeshan Ali – Activation Manager - PHD

Soča Kodric – Project Manager DOOH – Adylic

Nathan Bennett – Business Development Lead DOOH - Adylic

Saskia Hammond – Account Executive – Adylic

Allana Maclean – Creative Strategist – Adylic

Sevval Aysan- Creative Strategist – Adylic

Jack Apperley – Senior Account Manager - Adylic

Liam Kelly – Ad Ops Executive - Adylic

King Henry - Artworking, Re-touching & CGI

Adylic - Digital Creative Activation

Somesoch - Production

Will Robson Scott - Director

Lana Salfiti - Producer

Times Based Arts

Simone - Grade

750

Mark Hellaby - Sound

Paco Sweetman - Editor

SOUP - Design (paid social, in-museum screens and tunnel posters)

Nina Jua Klein

Simon Wilson