By Sam Andrews
LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - With almost one in three people in the now said to be acquiring or viewing illegal content, British home entertainment companies are launching a major campaign to change consumer attitudes toward copyright theft.
Under the auspices of the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, a broad coalition of content owners, wholesalers and retailers, the campaign will aim to create a social stigma around the consumption of illegal content. The initiative marks a move away from previous messages that concentrated on enforcement and the criminal nature of those involved.
Kicking off in June with a national television advertisement that also will be screened in cinemas, the campaign features "Knock-off Nigel," described by the coalition "as a label for the type of character that buys ’knock-off’ DVDs and downloads illegal content."
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The campaign also will feature online and viral marketing as well as targeted print editorial and will be supported by a substantial PR drive aimed at underlining the value of copyright.
According to the Trust, new research shows that copyright theft cost the U.K. film and television industry 460 million pounds ($920 million) in 2006. Losses to the DVD retail sector were equivalent to 14% of the sector’s total value and cinema losses equivalent to 13.5%.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
