The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2024
V&A proves it has something for every passion — Eurobest 2024 Media Grand Prix
adam&eveDDB and PHD match 70 V&A objects to niche passions and hide them where enthusiasts live — 37M impressions, catalogue searches up 12,000%.
Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
What it had to solve
Young people knew of the V&A but saw it as a stuffy museum with nothing for them; the brief was to make 18–35-year-olds feel that the 2.8-million-object collection was relevant to their own passions.
How it works
In early 2024, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London faced a perception problem: young people knew the museum existed but didn't think it had anything for them. It held more than 2.8 million objects spanning 5,000 years — the widest-ranging collection in the UK — yet 18–35-year-olds pictured dusty exhibits. The brief was to make the collection feel relevant to their actual passions.
The idea was to take the claim 'if you're into it, it's in the V&A' literally. With curators, the agencies selected 70 objects, then placed each where its audience already lived: a costume from Wicked appeared near West End theatres, a fishing statuette in the Angling Times, Doc Martens served to punks online. Where no media existed, the team invented stunts — hand-painted Warhammer figurines left in gaming cafés, custom golf balls hit into circulation at driving ranges, a GTA Online server hacked, silverware buried for metal detectors — each hiding a QR code to the relevant object.
The campaign generated 37 million impressions, a 23% increase in online searches for the V&A, and a 12,000% jump in searches of its online catalogue, with PR coverage that was 98% positive. It won the Eurobest 2024 Media Grand Prix, a One Show 2025 Gold Pencil, and a D&AD Pencil.
Why it lands
- It converted a perceived weakness — a museum that has a bit of everything — into the entire campaign proposition.
- Forensic matching meant every placement was proof, not claim: the object showed up in the exact place its enthusiast already was.
- Inventing media (knitted sweaters, buried silverware, hacked servers) let the campaign reach micro-passions that no existing channel could target.
- The QR-code mechanic closed the loop, turning surprise into a direct visit to the object — which is why catalogue searches rose 12,000%.
- Craft was treated as respect: enthusiasts can tell authenticity from parody instantly, so each object was made or placed with obsessive detail.
What it did
37 million impressions, a 23% rise in online searches for the V&A, catalogue searches up 12,000%, 98% positive PR coverage; Eurobest 2024 Media Grand Prix, One Show 2025 Gold, and a D&AD Pencil.
What you can take
When breadth is the message, don't advertise breadth — advertise each niche to its own audience: match the object to the medium, and make the placement itself proof that whatever you're into is here.
Since then
The V&A campaign ran through spring 2024 and kept winning into 2025 — the Eurobest 2024 Media Grand Prix, a One Show 2025 Gold Pencil, a D&AD Pencil, plus recognition at Cannes and other shows. It became a frequently cited example of media planning as the creative idea itself, proof that a museum's breadth — often framed as a weakness against more focused rivals — could be its strongest reason to visit.
Sources
- Victoria & Albert Museum | If you're into it, it's in the V&A
- If You're Into It, It's In The V&A
- PHD Wins Media Network of the Year at the Eurobest Awards 2024
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