3rd August 2026 – Manchester: TBWA\MCR and children’s Community Interest Company (CIC) Simmply Active have partnered on a powerful national awareness campaign challenging one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding knife crime, that children are only exposed to knife carrying in their teenage years.
The campaign warns that children can begin carrying knives far younger than most parents realise, calling for earlier conversations and earlier intervention.
Under the stark headline ‘KIDS CAN LEARN TO PICK UP KNIVES YOUNGER THAN YOU THINK’, the campaign features three striking out-of-home executions, photographed by Lol Keegan, showing familiar childhood toys, a teddy bear, a doll and a rubber duck, scarred with injuries reflecting knife wounds.
The unsettling creative is designed to confront an uncomfortable reality. While knife crime is most visible among teenagers, professionals working with children are increasingly seeing knife carrying emerge at much younger ages. Among under-10s, it is often a safeguarding issue rather than criminality, influenced by content, gaming, social media and older peers.
Rather than simply highlighting the problem, the campaign positions Simmply Active as part of the solution.
Founded by former teacher David Simmons, the community organisation gives children positive alternatives through sport, mentoring and trusted adult relationships. It helps young people build confidence, resilience and a sense of belonging before they are drawn towards harmful influences.
Simmply Active was established following a life-changing experience for Simmons in 2017, when he was working in a primary school and a six-year-old child came into the playground carrying a knife, waving it around and threatening to stab him. The incident exposed a reality that many people struggle to believe: children can become exposed to knives at an age far younger than public perception suggests.
At its core, the campaign positions Simmply Active as part of the solution, offering children a safer, more constructive alternative and a chance to choose a different path.
The campaign will appear throughout August across donated digital Out of Home sites from Bauer Media Outdoor, including the UK’s largest DOOH network Adshel Live, alongside a mobile digital advertising van operating across London through Mobile Media.
The campaign aims to spark conversations in homes, schools and communities, encouraging parents and carers to recognise that the earliest warning signs may not look the way they expect.
By reframing knife carrying as an issue of prevention rather than punishment, TBWA\MCR and Simmply Active hope to encourage earlier support, and ultimately stop children from picking up knives in the first place.
David Simmons, Founder and Director of Simmply Active, said:
“Most people associate knife carrying with teenagers, but our experience shows that some children are being exposed to these influences much earlier. This campaign is about encouraging awareness and starting conversations before problems escalate. If parents feel more informed and more confident about spotting concerns early, we’ve achieved what we set out to do.”
Gary Fawcett, Executive Creative Director at TBWA\MCR, added:
“We knew this campaign had to be impossible to ignore because the issue itself is often overlooked. The toy imagery creates an immediate emotional reaction while making clear that this is about very young children, not just teenagers. Our aim was to help Simmply Active bring this safeguarding concern into the public eye and encourage earlier awareness among parents and carers.”
