NIC

''Note: This article is written from a future perspective. In other words, current events are talked about as if they happened years or decades ago.''

The Northumberland Information Collective (NIC) is an organisation based in Northumberland, UK, which aims to continue the legacy of the COI in raising public awareness of various topics, including safety, drugs, mental health, alcohol, road safety, and smoking.

Don't Be A Clown


The NIC's first campaign was a series of posters and one public information film (PIF), warning people against huffing laughing gas (nitrous oxide, or N2O). The PIF in this campaign, had the clown on a park bench against a white background, chuckling to himself whilst an unseen voice talks to him from behind the camera. He goes on to tell a story about how his life has gone down the drain, his bank account is empty, he has no job, and his friends won't talk to him; laughing all the way to the end, at which point he finally breaks down in tears. The tagline, "Don't be a clown, laughing gas ruins lives" then fades in alongside the NIC logo.

The posters were similar, but also featured the clown in everyday scenarios, such as an office, a restaurant, a court, and a supermarket. These can still be found in schools across Northumberland, despite the campaign's age.

Decay
This anti-smoking PIF had a simple premise. There was a letterboxed shot of a woman's smile. She then lifts a cigarette up to her lips and takes a puff. When the smoke clears, however, her lipstick looks dull and powdery, and her skin is duller. One puff later, her lips are chapped and her teeth are stained brown. This continues until the smile is an ugly, cancerous frown with missing teeth. The screen fades to black, as the words "Don't let smoking take your smile" appear alongside the NIC logo.

They Are Lying To You
An unusual campaign, this series of PIFs and posters aimed to raise awareness of disinformation from social media and mainstream news alike. The PIFs featured clips of harmful news broadcasts, sound bites from false radio broadcasts, and clips from social media. These are interspersed with monospace text on a background of TV static, which reads "they are lying to you." The posters, meanwhile, just used headlines and had the tagline in the centre.

This campaign has been controversial, due to many of its viewers holding extreme biases that disagree with the presented information.

Hospital
The hospital series of PIFs covered numerous topics, such as drugs, alcohol, and general safety.

One of the most remembered PIFs was another one warning against the recreational use of nitrous oxide. It opens with a video of a person laughing hysterically, viewed from multiple angles. After about 30s of this, we finally get a wide shot, which reveals that the person is in a mental ward. Text then appears in the top-left, reading "I am Ethan. I have suffered permanent brain damage from breathing nitrous oxide. It's no laughing matter."

Another entry dealt with firework safety. It shows a closeup of a persons eye, brimming with excitement. In the reflection, we see a pair of hands light a firework, which doesn't light at first. The reflection shows the person walk back over to the firework and pick it up, before it explodes in their hand. The camera zooms out slowly to reveal the person is lying in a hospital bed with their right arm wrapped in gauze. It is noticeably shorter than their left arm, suggesting their hand was completely blown off by the firework. Text then appears on screen, reading "I am Alex. On 5th November, I lost my right hand and my hearing. Take care when using fireworks."