Urban Elle, Universal

Brief:
Retail theft is an issue that’s not on Canadian minds. To the general population, it’s just harmless shoplifting. The reality however, is that organized retail theft actually costs Canadian businesses $4-billion a year.
Crime Stoppers needed to raise awareness of the issue, as they were looking for public support for stiffer penalties to criminals involved in organized retail theft. The difficulty was that Canadians didn’t feel it was an issue that had any impact on them and their day-to-day lives. Essentially, it was the retailer’s problem not theirs.
Description:
We discovered that the cost of replacing stolen goods and adding extra security measures in stores is passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. In fact, the average family pays $413 more a year for the goods they buy because of retail theft.
We knew the unfairness of higher prices would resonate with Canadians, especially with the current economy. So we created a retail campaign for stores where all the prices were raised instead of lowered. The payoff? Organized retail theft costs Canadians $4-billion a year. Guess who pays for it?