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Channel 4 has today unveiled a series of thought-provoking stunts that immerse the public in the world of policymaking to celebrate its new political reality show Make Me Prime Minister. Produced by award-winning 4creative, Channel 4’s in-house creative agency, the campaign spans digital posters announcing unexpected new policies, a travelling 10 Downing Street lectern and a fake vending machine selling recreational drugs. 

Launching on 27th September, Make Me Prime Minister is a six-part series which follows 12 ordinary yet opinionated Brits with views from across the political spectrum, in a contest to see what it takes to operate in the cutthroat world of politics.

The marketing campaign launched with digital posters featuring attention-grabbing fictional policies and a specially designed Channel 4 version of the HM Government crest. They will run across the UK with new rulings such as “Pubs to open 24 hours a day” before asking “What if a party animal became king of the political jungle?” and “Mandatory military service returns at sunrise”, only then to ask, “What if an ex-solider called the shots for the kingdom?”.

Next up, the public had the opportunity to stand at a replica of the famous No.10 lectern and answer questions as if they are the Prime Minister as it popped up in London, Manchester and Glasgow.  With everyone having a view on how they would run the country if they were given the chance, people had an opportunity to share their vote-winning policy ideas with the public just like the contestants on the show. 

In East London, visitors to the Truman Brewery saw a vending machine stocked not with crisps and chocolate, but with fake marijuana and ecstasy, bringing to life a fictional policy exploring what would happen if all drugs were legal. Chatting with passers-by about how they would run the country if they were in charge and capturing their reactions to the vending machine, JOE Media captured content from the weekend to feature on its social channels. 

On TikTok, a specially designed filter puts users on the doorstep of No.10 Downing Street in a makeshift press conference to answer questions like “What would you make illegal?” and “Dream celeb Deputy PM?”. The filter is available to all UK users of the app.  

Zaid Al-Qassab, chief marketing officer, Channel 4, said: “Make Me Prime Minister explores what ordinary people would do if they were PM, so we wanted to let the great British public literally do that – we’re eager to hear what policies they have up their sleeves.” 

Lynsey Atkin, executive creative director at 4Creative, said: “Being Prime Minister is a very serious job – yet weirdly it’s one most of us think we’d be pretty good at. With a touch of fun – and tongue firmly in cheek – this campaign allows any ordinary civilian to (literally) step in front of Number 10, and prompt us to think about whether we’d really wield our power for the good of everyone, or simply indulge our own personal bias. 24-hour pubs? Count me in.”