If you’re into it, it’s in the V&A

The V&A and adam&eveDDB have launched a new campaign to showcase the incredible breadth of the V&A’s permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects, which tell a 5,000 year old story of creativity, spanning every creative discipline.

“If you’re into it, it’s in the V&A” is designed to drive mass re-appraisal and tap into people’s niche passions –from punk to pottery, or stamps to streetwear – to remind people that whatever your interests, you’re bound to find something for you in the V&A.

The campaign is based on the insight that whilst most people have heard of the V&A, fewer people feel familiar with what the museum offers, which is particularly true of younger generations. The work aims to highlight the relevance of the collection and increase visits to the V&A online and in person.

To land the campaign message in a multi-faceted, highly targeted way, the V&A and adam&eveDDB are working with dozens of skilled creators to produce a wide range of unique objects,. each object has been designed to appeal to specific interest groups, from the mainstream to the extremely niche. The objects all come together to form a variety of playful encounters with the V&A. Selected objects will be placed in unknown locations across the UK to be discovered by relevant enthusiasts as they are pursuing their passions, and feature QR codes that link directly to relevant items in the V&A collection.

Among the niche object activations is a silverware stunt, in which a century-old silver tankard engraved with a unique message has been buried in a popular Oxfordshire metal-detecting location; limited edition embroidered pocket squares to be given away at a specialist tailor; and a handmade 2-metre-long battle flag which was displayed by an armoured participant for a battle reenactment group.

Still to come are: an online stunt in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto Online, in which the campaign message will be displayed on the clothing of TikTok influencer Shlottie’s avatar as she broadcasts live on Twitch (13th March); a bespoke knit created by skilled artisan, Onyinye Achusiogu, to be worn at The Stitch Festival (21st – 24th March); a London theatre seat featuring a specially engraved plaque; a 120-year-old book that has been painstakingly rebound and will be left on the shelves of a vintage bookshop; and a bespoke 3D animation to be played before a film in the cinema, paying homage to the classic style of production company pre-rolls, and reminding movie-goers that “If you’re into cinema, it’s in the V&A”.

These stunts are complemented by a robust social media presence, including bespoke Instagram films created in collaboration with niche influencers such as @Wainwrightbookbinding, @Me.Old.China, and @hookednbusy, plus TikTok films featuring punks and battle reenactment groups that all work to deliver engaging content across various digital platforms, ensuring broad accessibility and participation.

The campaign also targets niche interests with programmatic display and press ads in specialist publications – reaching people in the places they go to feed their passions.

The hyper-targeted activity is supported by a mass-media push across OOH, press, digital and social media, showcasing 70 objects representing popular passions such as football, music and fashion. Every object featured in these campaign executions links back to real objects in the V&A collection, showing that the museum has every possible interest covered.

To ensure the V&A continues to serve every niche passion, the campaign also features a nationwide recruitment drive, created with Hope&Glory PR, to identify nine new ‘Superfan Advisors’. Selected fans will be joining the ranks of the V&A’s team to share their love and knowledge about their chosen subjects: Taylor Swift, Toby Jugs, Emojis, Tufting, Gorpcore, LEGO, Pokemon, Crocs and Drag. The campaign garnered masses of national media attention, with the V&A becoming a hot topic on BBC News, BBC Breakfast, ITV daytime and national radio stations, as well as gracing the pages of The Metro, The i, The Daily Mail, The Times and going international, by landing coverage across Europe and the USA in Variety and Time magazine. As a result of the enormous interest around the campaign, over one thousand entries for the roles were received via the V&A website.

Media for the campaign was planned and bought by PHD, spanning dynamic OOH, DCO digital display, press and social media. Contextual ads featuring 70 objects from the museum’s permanent collection are running across a number of media platforms, utilising the dynamic creative and optimisation capabilities of Omnicom Media Group’s Adylic to contextually match ads to their relevant environments, such as football, music and fashion. Design agency, SOUP, were responsible for paid social animation, in museum screens and tunnel poster design and production.