At a time when true crime consumption is at an all-time high, a new campaign from Missing People, BBH London and Sharon Horgan’s Merman seeks to remind audiences that real people’s tragedies are being exploited. 

With 49% of Brits tuning in to true crime daily, missing people’s stories have become a commodity to sell. The Missing People charity is challenging audiences' thirst for tragedy and shining a light on the real people whose lives are being packaged as evening entertainment. 

The new campaign is built around a film set in a writers' room, where around a table real missing persons cases are pitched as TV shows. The satirical film highlights how human tragedy should not be commodified. 

Directed by Rachel Stubbings with executive producer Sharon Horgan, a star-studded cast made up of Paterson Joseph, Anna Crilly, and Rosie Cavaliero chat through the real life cases, critiquing how entertaining they would be for audiences as the next true crime show.

They debate plot points, characters and marketability, treating the stories like drafts that can be discarded or tweaked for entertainment, except in this case, every story is real. The film ends with pictures of the real life missing people and their families, underlining that true crime is not entertainment. 

In the UK, someone is reported missing every 90 seconds. In an era where human tragedy has become bingeable entertainment, charity Missing People is fighting to change the narrative. Missing People has launched the Responsible Narratives Charter, which creators can pledge to and tell stories in a way that isn’t disrespectful to families. 

“Every missing person deserves the attention they need in order to help them to find safety. But it has to be the right kind,” says Ross Miller, CEO at Missing People. 

He continues: “The vast majority of the public and the media are supportive and want to help. However, when speculation becomes intrusive or personal, this can add significant pressure to families at a time when they are already going through the toughest moment of their lives. In some situations, the stigma can also make it harder for a missing person to want to reach out.” 

In order to create the campaign in a respectful, authentic and accurate way, BBH and Merman worked closely with people with lived experience of the issue throughout the development of the film and wider campaign.

Alongside the campaign film, OOH posters have been designed to look like case files, with post-it notes from TV producers attached with flippant remarks. 

The campaign holds a mirror up to audiences to shine a light on the way we have begun to consume stories of human tragedy. By holding entertainment and audiences to account, the campaign challenges the industry to do better and treat people’s real life stories with the respect they deserve.