The KNRM is the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution. It is a voluntary organization tasked with saving lives at sea. The KNRM maintains 45 lifeboat stations along the Dutch coast of the North Sea and Wadden Sea and on the IJsselmeer. The KNRM has been around for 200 years. To celebrate the anniversary and attract new sponsors, we developed a campaign targeted at everybody near open water.
The campaign plays on the idea of 'that won't happen to me'. Everybody thinks he is a good swimmer, has been surfing for decades or knows exactly what he is doing, and therefore won't need the assistance of the KNRM. However, the reality is very different. Accidents do happen when you least expect it and often to those who never expect it.
The campaign heralds typical reasons why people believe they don't need KNRM. And because people think like this, they will need the KNRM to save them. It is a bit of a mind twister, but there is an inescapable logic to it.
Outdoor.
Posters and ads.
Narrowcasting.
Magazine.
Ferry terminal
Client: KNRM - concept, copy: Huib Maaskant - concept, art: Guido van der Mark - photography: Marleen Kuipers.
