Hidden and usually not noticed by ordinary people, XTC illegal labs often get betrayed by their characteristic scent.
The new campaign ‘XTC, a smelly business’ launched by The Dutch National Public Prosecutors’ Office (OM) and conceived by the creative agency Roorda brings the distinct smell to the ordinary citizen’s attention with the introduction of a new bottled fragrance under the brand XTACY.
Den Bosch, the capital city of the province with the highest density of drug labs, has been the place to kick off the campaign just the day before yesterday.
The initiative is led by two officers from the Public Prosecutors’ Office in Zwolle, who were aware that tracking and prosecuting XTC criminals, citizen support is a welcome help.
As part of their investigation on alternative ways to deal with crime, both officers took and internship at Roorda Advertising Agency with the aim of finding out to what extent citizens can contribute to the fight against crime. Together they came up with the introduction of the new fragrance ‘XTACY’.
While unaware of the presence of a lab, citizens often donotice the signals of XTC production such as the distinct smell. This fact is at the core of the campaign.
The National Public Prosecutors’ Office will distribute bottles and scent strips of the fragrance among police stations across the Netherlands and ask cities to organize similar actions in order to make more people aware of the smell and hopefully uncover more drug labs.
A promo team in a busy shopping street of Den Bosch approached as many people as possible to talk about the fragrance and hand out the familiar ‘testers’.
The team asked people if they wanted to test the new fragrance “with strong hints of anise” and how they liked it. Then, they explained the full story. Within hours, the scent spread through the province capital.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte received the first bottle of Xtacy last 26th May and soon the new parfum got famous all over the country thanks to the main Dutch media outlets.
Joeri Jansen (Creative Director Roorda Advertising Agency): “Initially we were quite surprised when two public prosecutors applied for an internship. In the end it turned out to be a very smart way for the ladies to steal a strategy and a creative idea from us. We are not averse to unconventional ways to develop campaigns, so we could very much appreciate this daring action. And of course it is a big compliment that our campaigns apparently stand out in such a way that even the judiciary notices us. We very much hope that this campaign will be a great success.”
Public Prosecutor Lars Stempher said on the ‘XTC, a smelly business’ campaign: “The approach of synthetic drug production is constantly being renewed because criminals are growing smarter in hiding their labs from police and prosecution. The impact on society increases as labs become more hazardous and more waste is being dumped in the public domain, leading to bigger risks for public health and environmental damage. The drug labs are located in residential areas as well, and there are certain signals by which citizens can recognize the presence of a drug lab, in particular the smell. Sowe introduced the new fragrance as the important signal of a nearby lab. Under the motto: once smelled, later recognized”.
In 2018, 82 labs and 79 chemical storages where discovered in the Netherlands as well as 292 dump sites of chemical waste. In recent years drug labs are getting bigger and more professional.
Image over the headline.- XTACY, the first bottled fragance brand able to betray XTC illegal labs.© Roorda.
