Guerrilla activists reimagine movie posters with black leads to underline diversity woes
Black Brixton teens have “begged and hustled" to develop a vast outdoor ad campaign to create a conversation about the lack of black actors in top movies and shows. To do so, they shot, developed and erected ads throughout London for a reported cost of £150.
Popular shows and movies now with black leads
The Guardian reports that 18-year-old Shiden Tekle and friends from the activist group Legally Black, conceived the campaign. They, with the help of parents, and the Special Patrol Group (SPG), a subversive ad collective that made its name arguing that ‘Advertising Shits in Your Head’, delivered across ads in London by hijacking ad panels.
Posters for Titanic, Harry Potter, Skyfall, Bridget Jones, Skins, Doctor Who and The Inbetweeners were all edited to have only black leads, underlining the issues with the strapline, "If you’re surprised, it means you don’t see enough black people in major roles, join us on our mission for better black representation in the media".
Tekle and his friends, all reshot the posters with a professional photographer and graphic designer. However, they were reportedly shocked when the saw the finished product up on a bus stop panel in Brixton.
It is worth pointing out that the media exposure was basically free due to the SPG, as they are known to do, highjacking the media space when the recent snowstorms obfuscated any replacements or takedowns.
Amelia Viney, chief advocate of the Advocacy Academy said the teens “begged and they hustled so hard”, pulling the campaign off with a spend of £150.
Below are some of the tweets that have followed the stunt.
"We’d love to work with @NetflixUK, @bbcone & @Channel4 to make more crucial change a reality and to bring truly representative media, to a screen near you. So please keep sharing those bus stop pictures. Let’s turn this trickle of influence into a storm." https://t.co/lp1OWctjwg pic.twitter.com/TfExvNlrAh
— Special Patrol Group (@SpecialPatrols) 3 March 2018
Can @legallyblackuk and @AdvocacyAcademy still enter @dandad? Their campaign is better executed than 80-90% of actual advertising: https://t.co/3tFe0UIn70 pic.twitter.com/6oyXgh8JDA
— Special Patrol Group (@SpecialPatrols) 3 March 2018
Thought provoking campaign. I’m here for this.
"If you're surprised, it means you don't see enough black people in major roles.”
-- these movie posters have gone up in Brixton, South London - by @AdvocacyAcademy @SpecialPatrols and @legallyblackuk. pic.twitter.com/JuD861ENP1
— ••♕Michael Salami♕•• (@MrMSalami) 3 March 2018