A quiet but visually powerful protest is making waves across major UK cities. Greenpeace, in collaboration with several human rights and environmental organizations, has launched a bold DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) campaign titled “They Can’t Arrest This Billboard” in London, Manchester, and Birmingham.
The campaign is more than a clever use of advertising space—it’s a provocative statement on the erosion of protest rights in the UK. Through Ocean Outdoor’s network of large-format LED screens, six prominent activists appear to “protest” from within the screens themselves. Each holds a placard with a simple yet piercing message:
“I’m protesting in here to avoid arrest out there.”
This one-liner is the heart of the campaign. With just a few words, it captures the absurd reality that public protest in physical spaces increasingly risks legal consequences, while digital billboards—typically used for advertising—may now offer a safer refuge for political expression.
In recent years, the UK government has tightened legal restrictions on public demonstrations. Peaceful protestors now face growing risks of arrest under new legislation. Greenpeace’s decision to shift protest from the streets to LED screens is both creative and critical.
The campaign unfolds across Ocean’s Loop screen network, forming a virtual protest route in high-traffic city centers. As pedestrians move through the streets, they encounter different protestors on different screens—replicating the dynamic flow of a real-life demonstration. The consistent repetition of the phrase “I’m protesting in here to avoid arrest out there” reinforces the chilling reality of these restrictions.
A QR code embedded in the creative directs passersby to more information about how current crime and policing laws are impacting democratic rights in the UK.
The brilliance of the phrase lies in its dual-layered contrast: “in here” versus “out there,” digital safety versus physical vulnerability. It transforms a billboard into more than a platform—it becomes the message itself.
Janette Hall, Head of Campaign Creative at Greenpeace UK, remarked:
“This project fuses medium and message, asking a dystopian yet pressing question: what if billboards were the last safe place to protest?”
Caroline Davison, Managing Director and sustainability lead at creative agency Elvis, added:
“It’s sobering to think that soon, a billboard might be the only place left where one can speak freely without fear of arrest.”
The campaign isn’t confined to the streets. Greenpeace UK is amplifying its impact online with social media videos, interviews with the featured activists, and calls to action.
“They Can’t Arrest This Billboard” was awarded the Gold Prize in the Non-Profit category of Ocean Outdoor’s Digital Creative Competition, affirming its social resonance and creative excellence.
Supported by Amnesty International UK, Friends of the Earth, and Liberty, the initiative forms part of a broader movement urging the UK government to roll back anti-protest measures introduced since 2022.
“I’m protesting in here to avoid arrest out there” is not just a clever tagline—it’s a mirror reflecting a concerning truth. Through humor, simplicity, and digital media, Greenpeace delivers a powerful critique of shrinking civic space in modern democracies.
Kinglight supplies LEDs for high quality DOOH LED displays
As digital billboards evolve from marketing tools into platforms for protest, they remind us that freedom of expression needs more than pixels—it needs protection.
