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A Creative High Five for the Thames Valley Police

Everyone loves sex. And everyone loves tea – unless it is not consensual. That is the brilliant premise behind this animated PSA by the Thames Valley Police in England. It was created as part of the department’s #ConsentisEverything campaign.

What I like about it.

The simple, cartoonish animations keep it light. From a creative standpoint, it would have been very easy to go down the road of a Law & Order SVU (Special Victims Unit) type cinematic approach. But that would have stirred up a lot of raw, painful emotions for women and their loved ones who have experienced it. The rape survivor community is enormous.

I also like that it’s long – almost 3 minutes. Though it seems repetitive, it actually refutes all the ways that consent has been misunderstood. And it does it in such a friendly, non-judgmental manner that it’s gone viral.

This ad was created in October 2015, after a 29% increase (22,116) recorded rapes in 2014 by the Office for National Statistics. Now, it’s going viral again in the United Kingdom and United States because of the outrage over Stanford rapist Brock Turner’s case.

I’m grateful to writer Emmeline May, illustrator Rachel Brian, and narrator Graham Wheeler for not only doing such a great job educating their target market, but showing what an impact we can have on others when we push the creative envelope.