Brief Description: Theft costs British society an estimated £9.5 billion per year. Many of these thefts are opportunistic crimes that can be easily avoided if people take simple preventative measures. The challenge was to find a single campaign idea that could motivate a core target audience most at risk of crime and demonstrate measures they could take to prevent it. Using a single, humorous campaign idea, executed through TV, radio and print, the strategy was to dramatise how thieves saw their victims as stupidly careless. The campaign reduced the cost of crime to the taxpayer by £189 million and generated payback of £14 for every £1 spent; ---(TAGS)--- Full Title: Cutting the cost of crime: how advertising turned a nation of victims into a nation of crime prevention officers; Number: 2008/47; Brand: Acquisition Crime; Client: COI: Home Office; Product Category: Government Departments (Public service information campaigns); Agency: RKCR / Y&R; Author: Alice Huntley (main author), Sharon Sawers (contributing author), Emma Roberts (contributing author); Prize Winners: Gold; Charles Channon Award for Best New Learning; Simon Broadbent Award for Best Dedication to Effectiveness; Best Media (Adworks ref: Advertising Works 17)