The V&A and adam&eveDDB have launched a new campaign to showcase the incredible breadth of the V&A’s permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects, which tell a 5,000 year old story of creativity, spanning every creative discipline.

“If you’re into it, it’s in the V&A” is designed to drive mass re-appraisal and tap into people’s niche passions –from punk to pottery, or stamps to streetwear – to remind people that whatever your interests, you’re bound to find something for you in the V&A. 

The campaign is based on the insight that whilst most people have heard of the V&A, fewer people feel familiar with what the museum offers, which is particularly true of younger generations. The work aims to highlight the relevance of the collection and increase visits to the V&A online and in person. 

To land the campaign message in a multi-faceted, highly targeted way, the V&A and adam&eveDDB are working with dozens of skilled creators to produce a wide range of unique objects, each object has been designed to appeal to specific interest groups, from the mainstream to the extremely niche. The objects all come together to form a variety of playful encounters with the V&A. Selected objects will be placed in unknown locations across the UK to be discovered by relevant enthusiasts as they are pursuing their passions, and feature QR codes that link directly to relevant items in the V&A collection.

Among the niche object activations is a silverware stunt, in which a century-old silver tankard engraved with a unique message has been buried in a popular Oxfordshire metal-detecting location; limited edition embroidered pocket squares to be given away at a specialist tailor; and a handmade 2-metre-long battle flag which was displayed by an armoured participant for a battle reenactment group. 

Still to come are: an online stunt in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto Online, in which the campaign message will be displayed on the clothing of TikTok influencer Shlottie’s avatar as she broadcasts live on Twitch (13th March); a bespoke knit created by skilled artisan, Onyinye Achusiogu, to be worn at The Stitch Festival (21st – 24th March); a London theatre seat featuring a specially engraved plaque; a 120-year-old book that has been painstakingly rebound and will be left on the shelves of a vintage bookshop; and a bespoke 3D animation to be played before a film in the cinema, paying homage to the classic style of production company pre-rolls, and reminding movie-goers that “If you’re into cinema, it’s in the V&A”.

Find out more on adam&eveDDB.