DDB Vancouver has launched a multi-faceted public service campaign, ‘Youth Against Gang Violence,’ that puts its message on TV, online and on the streets – in the form of shell casings scattered around town branded with www.StayOut.ca, and mock gang recruitment posters.

The campaign’s 30-second TV spot, ‘Microcosm,’ (click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7s8h7Ire7E to see it on YouTube) compares the movements of gang members – as viewed through a microscope lens – to other deadly blood infections that can kill such as cancer and H.I.V. Global Television will air the ‘Microcosm’ spot throughout the year.

The ‘Local Gang Now Hiring’ faux recruitment flyers are posted or stenciled around bus stops, rec centres, skate parks and schools. When the phone numbers are called, the dialer hears one of two things: an anti-gang message or real-life gang-related audio recordings from areas near the caller’s location.

When driven to the website, users are confronted by a large red circle with three black dots that, once rolled over, infect the mouse, causing it to seize, swell and spit out a rash of other black dots that multiply, followed by the message: ‘Once a gang infects your life, it’s almost impossible to get them out. Gang life kills.’ The black dots then reorganize and become links to info about gang-related crimes and their respective prison sentences, as well as audio tracks related to specific street addresses.

DDB Vancouver and Tribal DDB, its online and interactive division, developed the campaign pro bono for A Community That Cares. Other sponsors include local community organizations, the BC Ministry of Public Safety, Bandra Films, TD Canada Trust and Global Television.