They asked us to convince high-potential graduates to turn their attention away from a career in the City and join a two-year prison officer programme instead. 

They also wanted to reach beyond their traditional audiences to engage untapped groups – particularly male and BAME candidates.  

Honesty (and bravery) was the best policy 

This was no time for sugar-coating. We knew that, despite the many benefits of the programme, plenty of Unlocked’s current graduates had experienced negative reactions when they announced their chosen career path. We wanted to show this and with the many positives too. So we put both at the heart of a video that grabbed people from the start and kept them watching.  

It featured everyone from a baffled friend and an impressed future interviewer to a mortified mum and intrigued first date. Their dialogue overlapped into one rolling stream of reactions, both good and bad. This kept things pacy and allowed us to (almost) swear a couple of times. Cheeky.