Safety on the Internet
Issue 15 | June 2010
Agency
Ogilvy Amsterdam
Creative Team
Creative Director: Darre van Dijk, Piebe Piebenga; Creative Group Head: Peter van Kujik; Creative Director Interactive: Chris Jones; Strategy Director: Hans Veldhorst
Production Team
Producer: Brenda van den Berg; Account Manager: Nigel Hassall
Date
August 2009
Background
XS4ALL is the number one internet provider in the Netherlands. It was also one of the first ISPs in the country and built a reputation for its “carefree internet experience.”
It was part of its duty of care to warn its subscribers about online safety. There are risks when you put things on the web without thinking.
Idea
The agency’s approach was to reverse behaviour, showing what happens when people do things in real life the same way that they do things online.
A complete stranger (actor) approached people on the street, on their doorsteps or in their offices and asked them for private information about themselves and their families. He asked for their credit card pin codes and to see their holiday pictures. Naturally the responses were negative and people were disconcerted by the nosy parker. A hidden camera caught their reactions on video.
With the permission of those who had been filmed, the clips were used as online banners, asking the question at the end, “Are you just as cautious on the internet with your personal data?”
Each movie clip invited the viewer to visit a special website, where XS4ALL gave safety tips and asked visitors to join discussions about safety topics. They could also see longer versions of the three films.
Results
Hundreds of thousands of viewers watched the viral videos with a lot of them taking part in lively discussions. As an additional measure of success, tracking studies showed brand preference for XS4ALL went up 7%
Our Thoughts
Nice to see the newly installed Executive Creative Director Henk Nieuwenhuis making his mark on Ogilvy Amsterdam so soon. I love this idea because of its simplicity. Reversals are a classic way to dramatise a problem and simply showing how hostile people on the streets are to being asked for personal information makes it only too plain how easily we hand out our details online. Actually, if we did most of the things we do online in public we’d be arrested and they’d throw away the key. If the final take-out is that you’re safer with XS4ALL, then they have established a clear competitive advantage in a market in which there are, as yet, no distinct personalities.