AMV BBDO and The National Counter Terrorism Police Launch code: SEVERE Podcast

On 6th March, National Counter Terrorism Police and AMV BBDO launched `code: SEVERE’, a new campaign to encourage more people to report suspicious behaviour and help combat terrorism. 

'code: SEVERE' is a podcast series revealing the inside story of terrorist attacks from the files of U.K. Counter Terrorism Police, as told by the officers, witnesses and the terrorists themselves. A campaign of `code: SEVERE’ radio commercials will also run on nationwide radio for three weeks and the podcasts will be available on Acast, iTunes and the police’s own channels forever.

Each podcast features the detectives, investigating officers and surveillance operatives who actually worked on the case, as well as the highest ranking Counter Terrorism Officers in the UK. The campaign reveals previously untold stories of how members of the public have contributed to the fight against terrorism. By publicising how the public has aided police investigations, ACT (Action Counters Terrorism), National Counter Terrorism Police and AMV BBDO aim to encourage people to act on their instincts and share their concerns with police.

The UK’s most senior Counter Terrorism officer, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley comments: “Our first ever podcast series explains, in a compelling and engaging way, how members of the public acted on their instincts and helped save lives. Code: SEVERE has been produced to help encourage others to do the same. By being more open about the threat and our work to confront it we hope the public will feel better informed and more confident in coming forward. I hope the podcasts will demonstrate that one piece of information shared with the police can make a massive difference. At the same time, if information turns out to be nothing of concern we will still be happy to have checked it out."

The team behind `code: SEVERE’ wrote the series using unprecedented access to case information, archive and surveillance recordings, and  interviews with both the witnesses and the Counter Terrorism officers involved in the actual investigations. The podcasts are narrated by Mark Strong, and directed by double-BAFTA winning director Dominic Savage.

The podcasts are part of a wider national campaign driving awareness of the ACT message and encouraging members of the public to act when they encounter suspicious behaviour. The campaign – planned and bought by MediaCom – consists of podcasts, a national radio campaign including partnerships, online native content partnership, social films and search.