JWT Hack WiFi to Draw Attention to Domestic Abuse

Cannes delegates looking to get a little free WiFi on the croisette got a nasty surprise last week thanks to a JWT London stunt that draw attention to the victims of domestic violence.

Named Signal for Help, the stunt comprised of a video and a hacked WiFi signal. If a user tried to join the tempting-looking 'Free_Public_Wi-Fi' network, their phone wold begin playing a video [above] made to look like a real FaceTime call from a woman who asks for help before the phone cuts out as a man begins shouting threats at her. The video then notes how “Only 16% of suspected domestic abuse is reported to the police,” and asks viewers to add 101 (the non-emergency police number) to their phones.

Although the campaign, created for charity Bede House, first launched in May 2017, it got a second lease of life at Cannes, where the world's advertising executives were fooled by its promise of free WiFi.