Justice Might Be Served: 4creative campaign spotlights British justice system ahead of Channel 4’s The Jury: Murder Trial

19 February 2024

Channel 4 today debuts a multi-platform campaign for The Jury: Murder Trial, a new dramatization airing from Monday 26 Feb at 9pm, which will examine the jury system by recreating a real murder trial with two juries for the first time on British television.  The show explores whether the two different juries made up of completely different people will reach the same verdict.

The marketing campaign which uses the tag line Justice Might Be Served, launches in out-of-home (OOH) formats,  social, an audio partnership and is delivered by Channel 4’s award-winning in-house creative agency, 4creative.

The first phase of the campaign features imagery of two juries listening to the same case in court. Above some jury members are descriptions which highlight factors other than the facts of the case which could influence trials. Studies [1][2] have suggested that up to a quarter of juries’ verdicts may be susceptible to inaccuracies influenced by a range of factors beyond objective evidence.

On the day of the first broadcast of The Jury: Murder Trial  [Channel 4, Monday 26 Feb at 9pm], a separate execution in OOH and newspapers that takes the form of a court summons letter, will instruct the public to watch The Jury: Murder Trial and gain insight into the experience of being a jury member.

Justice Might Be Served is the latest in a recent line of acclaimed and award-winning campaigns from 4creative. Last November, to promote Channel 4’s season of climate change programming, a bold film featuring a pair of giant carbon skid-marked underpants called out the actions and inactions of those in positions of power such as politicians and the CEOs of big businesses, questioning the extent to which they are doing enough. Last September, 4creative planted rave-style flyers and posters across UK cities to promote its Partygate docudrama on the controversial gatherings of civil servants and Conservative Party staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Jury: Murder Trial will examine the jury system for the first time on British television by recreating an entire, real murder trial from the original transcripts in front of 24 jurors, randomly split into two juries, neither of whom are aware of the other. Filmed over ten days, in a former courthouse in Essex, the series will take a forensic look at the inner workings of justice. The two juries will be asked to judge on the real case of a man who admits he killed his wife, but whose defence maintains that he lost control, and is therefore not guilty of murder.

Andy Vasey and Dan Warner, Creative Directors, 4creative, said: "The show is an innovative true crime experiment that gives the public an insight into the British jury system. Our campaign spotlights how, for example,  a juror being hungover or tired might be as likely to sway a verdict as the facts of the case. With one trial and two juries, it’s fascinating to see whether the same verdict will be reached by both.”

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[1] Juries disagree in 23% of Guilty Verdicts and 38% of Acquittals. The Oxford Jury Project made this startling discovery when 30 ‘Shadow Juries’ watched real cases in Oxford Crown Court and they compared the shadow and real jury verdicts https://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/23/1/Darbyshire-P-23.pdf

[2] Judges disagree with Jury verdicts in 22% of cases. Chicago Law School carried out the world’s biggest comparison of Jury verdicts and what the Judge would have decided in each case, analysing 3576 cases. A similar study in the UK covering 500 cases, found Judges had ‘serious doubts’ over 32% acquittals https://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/23/1/Darbyshire-P-23.pdf

Credits

Brand: Channel 4

CMO: Zaid Al-Qassab

Marketing Director: Amber Kirby

Head of Brand: Nic Moran

Marketing Lead: Anna Kerr

Marketing Exec: Gabi Schuman

Agency: 4creative

Executive Creative Director: Lynsey Atkin

Creative Directors: Andy Vasey and Dan Warner

Creatives: Sofie Saietz and Simone Weilborg

Director of Production: Miketta Lane

Executive Producer: Charlie Bettice

Senior Producer: Simon Glover

Producer: Faye Adams

Director: Rob Heath

Head of Design: Rob Boon

Designer: Dan Davies

Project Manager: Sophie McNeill

OOH Photography: Curious

Photographer: Dan Humphreys

CGI/Retouching: Curious

Media Agency: OMD

About Channel 4

Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment. Publicly owned yet commercially funded, Channel 4 generates significant and sustainable cultural, economic and social impact across the UK – at no cost to the taxpayer.

The broadcaster’s distinctive remit is set by Parliament, and it has a role to represent unheard voices, challenge with purpose and reinvent entertainment. For over 40 years, it has been a British success story, engaging generation after generation of young people.

Through a unique publisher-broadcaster model, Channel 4 commissions its content from the UK independent production sector. Working with around 300 creative companies every year, Channel 4 makes a major contribution to the local, regional and national economy, creating and supporting thousands of jobs and businesses across the country.

In 2020, Channel 4 launched its Future4 strategy to become a digital-first public service media company and to continue to deliver significant impact for UK audiences and investment into the UK creative economy.

Across its bases in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, Channel 4 is turbocharging its efforts to find, nurture and develop talent across the UK. Through its training and development initiative 4Skills, Channel 4 is opening up opportunities in broadcasting, with a particular focus on disadvantaged young people, and addressing skills gaps across the Nations and Regions.

Channel 4 has the UK’s biggest free streaming service plus 11 television channels including: Channel 4, E4, E4 Extra, More4, Film4, 4Seven and The Box Plus Network. Through Film4 Productions, Channel 4 also invests in British filmmakers to huge critical acclaim, producing 37 Oscar wins and 88 BAFTA wins in its history.

https://www.channel4.com/