A brighter way to tackle crime: Manifest launches first ever unified campaign for Neighbourhood Watch

Neighbourhood Watch Victoria has launched its first unified campaign to address rising crime in the state, focusing on community action and consistent security habits. The campaign, created by Manifest, aims to remind Victorians to lock their cars and doors through a fun and engaging approach.

The announcement:

Community-led crime prevention organisation Neighbourhood Watch Victoria today launches its first ever unified campaign in its more than 40-year history. Created by cultural impact agency Manifest to help address the rise in aggravated motor vehicle-motivated crime across the state, the behaviour change initiative sets out to remind Victorians to remember to lock their cars and their front doors by leaning into fun, not fear.

With media handled by Superhuman spanning OOH across metro Melbourne, digital, search, TVC and BVOD channels, the campaign addresses a critical behavioural inconsistency: While 92% of Australians consider home safety the most important factor for liveability (RACV 2023), only 53% of Victorians always put their vehicle keys away in a safe place, and just 52% consistently lock their doors and windows when at home (Neighbourhood Watch Victoria 2026).

The campaign launches at a pivotal moment for Victoria, as this type of crime is on the rise. The new research commissioned by Neighbourhood Watch reveals that one in four (22%) of Victorians leave keys in visible or convenient places, while 28% sometimes leave doors and windows unlocked during the day.

Rather than relying on fear-based messaging, Manifest used social norms theory to spotlight the positive power of collective action. The core message —”There’s safety in neighbours” — demonstrates that when entire communities adopt consistent security habits, neighbourhoods become exponentially safer and thieves are left with no choice but to move on.

“Most people aren’t unaware, careless, or indifferent about locking up, they’re inconsistent,” said Bambi Gordon, CEO of Neighbourhood Watch Victoria. “This addresses that behavioural gap head-on.”

She continued, “We know Victorians value home safety, but good intentions don’t prevent crime, consistent daily security habits do. When we all lock up, thieves leave. This is about empowering communities to take collective action through a simple act of locking up that protects not just individual homes, but entire streets and suburbs, making them safer places to live.”

The striking creative execution features a neon-inspired visual system where suburban homes display illuminated signs reading lines such as “Lock Stars Live Here”, “We’re Locked, Are You?”, “Lock Yeah” and “Locked by Popular Demand.” The hero film depicts a busy professional returning home from work in a relatable moment juggling groceries and a laptop as she struggles towards her front door before she realises she’s not locked her vehicle. As she locks her car and then her front door, the motion triggers the buzzing and crackling on of a giant neon sign out the front of her home, spilling light onto her front lawn. A series of other neon signs flicker on as her neighbours return home and one by one, also lock up. The spot ends with an aerial view of a neighbourhood lit up in bright neon colours in the shape of a large padlock — a powerful metaphor for collective security.

Isabel Thomson-Officer, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Manifest, said: “When Neighbourhood Watch came to us with a desire to use creativity to address a serious crime problem but wanted to do so without scaremongering, we jumped at the opportunity.

“We leaned into true blue tongue-in-cheek humour, while also paying homage to the brand’s retro roots via the neon signs and the pillarbox framing. The result is a surreal spot that lives across screens, streets and social feeds, making security feel simple, not scary at a time when many in the community are feeling the impact of rising crime.”

The campaign includes both a 30-second and 15-second TVC and BVOD content directed by James Thomson, alongside digital and social assets, earned media, and OOH placements across metro Melbourne. The aim is to transform mundane security routines into ingrained habits by making locking up feel like the norm — because in safer suburbs, it is.

To learn more about Safety in Neighbours, visit nhw.com.au.