Channel 4 look at ‘jury justice’

Channel 4 has launched a campaign for The Jury: Murder Trial…

The law court dramatisation 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 lineJustice 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 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 a separate execution in OOH and newspapers that takes the form of a court summons letter, will instruct the public to watch the programme 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.

Andy Vasey and Dan Warner, Creative Directors, 4creative:

“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.”

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.

The Jury: Murder Trial, Monday 26 Feb at 9pm, Channel 4