The goal for this project was to create three ads for any type of public service campaign. Here, the chosen campaign was “Skateboarding is not a Crime.” 

All across the world skateboarders are discriminated against for skating. They are seen as hooligans and criminals as opposed to athletes. In certain places such as Dubai it is illegal to skateboard outside of the designated skatepark areas. The purpose of this ad campaign is to show that skateboarding is not a crime; and skateboarders are not criminals. The target audience is everyone who does not skateboard; but more specifically the people who view the sport in a negative light. It is important to change the way these people see skateboarding; to align skateboarding with things they view fondly. The best case scenario is for the target audience to recognize skateboarding as a serious sport; however not everyone who skateboards takes it that seriously. Because of this it could also work to make skateboarding seem like a hobby or a toy.

Above is a mockup of one of the ads at a bus stop. The ideal location for this ad would be in any sort big city where there is a healthy skate scene. At the very least they should be put in the city where the Olympics are being held; such as Paris or Los Angales

For the interactive ad the idea was to set up a sort of public art exhibit. The exhibit would be set up on the street and involve a halfpipe closed off with crime-scene tape. The ramp would still be perfectly skateable; and nothing would be stopping people from riding it. The goal would be for local skaters to show up and start skating it. In doing so it would appear that they were commiting a “crime”, yet in reality they would not be doing anything wrong. Hopefully this would make onlookers realize that skateboarding really isn’t all that bad.

Above is a mockup of what one of the ads would look like of posted on Instagram. By posting it on instagram the ad would be able to be seen by more people than the bus stop or halfpipe.

Just about every skater in the world will face some form of discrimination at some point in their life. Whether it’s getting kicked out of a spot by security, or just mean words from a passerby on the street, it’s something many of us have experienced. Certain people treat skaters as hooligans and criminals rather than athletes or even just contributing members of society. While the discrimination is not nearly as severe as racism, sexism, etc. it is still very prevalent.

The goal of these ads was to align the public view of skateboarding with a skateboarder’s view of skateboarding. Skateboarding can be a very serious sport; and it is even in the olympics now. For thousands of years the Olympics have been the absolute pinnacle of sport. Athletes such as Simone Biles and Stephen Curry are seen as national heroes; and their sports are highly respected. However, skateboarding is still not seen in the same light as gymnastics or basketball.