Nexus Cable Theft Campaign

When Nexus, which owns and manages the Metro system in the North East, joined forces with North Tyneside Council and Northumbria Police to launch a hard-hitting poster campaign to warn of the dangers and consequences of cable theft from Metro lines, Guerilla won the contract to deliver a hard hitting and memorable campaign.

The campaign used graphic images of a man with, on one side severe electric burns and the other handcuffs around his wrists, to highlight the double message that live cables on the railways have the potential to kill or cause serious injuries and that police patrols have been stepped up, making it even more likely that offenders will be caught in the act.

Posters were displayed at prominent locations next to Metro tracks across Tyneside, specifically those which had been the target of theft previously. Sites which had been previously targeted had posters and ‘crime scene’ tape placed at strategic points to highlight the dangers directly to thieves.

"We were impressed how well they understood what we wanted from this campaign – which is to ram home the double danger of stealing metal from the rail network. As well as succeeding in this, the media coverage the campaign launch has attracted helps support our wider campaign to highlight the impact of metal theft on local communities and the need for a change in the law to address this issue." Huw Lewis,
Head of Communications,
Nexus