"Who Knew It Would Be So Hard to Tell People to Sit on Their Asses!"
“We were all horrified this weekend, to see how Britain were just carrying on like a pandemic wasn't spreading across the UK. We couldn't get our heads around why they were doing it and disregarding all the advice. To us it was so simple - it's the right thing to do and the easiest way to be a hero,” says Nathalie Gordon.
This weekend, before UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson enacted a nationwide lockdown, social media and news outlets were full of images of busy parks, markets and streets as people flouted the admittedly softly-delivered advice about social distancing and staying at home.
That’s what motivated Nathalie and two of her colleagues at creative agency Pablo, Amy Fasey and Jacob Hellström, to create a set of no-nonsense, eye-catching posters imploring the public to stop the spread of Covid-19.
“They are simple but hopefully pack a punch. And their message universal - not exclusive just the UK. They've been shared in India and America so far, so the message is clearly resonating. Or at least raising a smile. Or shaming people into in-action - who knew it could be so hard to tell people to sit on their asses!”
The vivid neon posters were designed as a guerrilla campaign – the team were in the process of getting them printed, with an eye to posting all over London and gathering hotspots. However, with a full lockdown in place, the trio decided to follow their own advice, stay at home and share the images online.
However, their bold designs have found some fans in the world of outdoor advertising. The threesome have been donated poster sites across London and Sheffield, which means that the message still has a chance to reach those who are out and about for non-essential reasons during the lockdown.
“They are out in the wild and hopefully making people stay the fuck inside. The generosity of strangers to get positive messages out in the wild is brilliant,” says Nathalie. “And so many people are asking, 'why aren't the government doing this?'”
