Don't kill Mia

Trouble in Amsterdam...

In November 2014, Amsterdam was suffering from a street dealer selling white heroin as cocaine to tourists. Three people died, 14 were hospitalized. To inform tourists, the city council installed large warning signs at tourist hubs around the city.

Solution

As I walked past these signs every day on my way to work, it reminded me of a famous Pulp Fiction scene. In this scene Vincent Vega (played by John Travolta) tries to save the life of Mia Wallace (played by Uma Thurman). She is dying, because she has used white heroin, thinking it is cocaine.

I figured that if we could use the strength of this scene in relation to the things that were happening in Amsterdam, we could reach tourists even before they hit town. By using pop culture and gamification it could create a viral effect, maximizing the reach of the target audience. The more people learned about this, the better, because awareness can save lives.

And so we did. We build an online interactive experience, based on the movie. In the movie, Vincent Vega gives Mia a shot of adrenalin to the heart. But in the online interactive experience you have to give the shot.

This way, we got the attention of the audience and meanwhile we told them the important message: "When you come to Amsterdam, have fun. When it comes to drugs, be cautious.". Also, we supplied the link to the website that the City Council Amsterdam had put up to inform tourists in the best way possible.

RESULTS

Within days, the experience was shared and viewed by 200.000 visitors via twitter, facebook and other social networks around the globe. It appeared on both national and international media: television, newspapers and blogs were talking about it. Fortunately, the dealer got caught, but the message remains: 'When you come to Amsterdam, have fun. When it comes to drugs, be cautious.'. We got recognition from the W3, by winning Silver in Game – Charitable Organizations / Non-Profit awards.