‘Super spud’ recommends a safe summer in latest campaign against anti-social behaviour
28 Jul 2025
A new campaign is encouraging the county’s children and teens to have a safe, sociable summer.
The digital advertising campaign launched by the County Council and funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, features five 30-second animated videos following protagonist potato ‘Super Spud’ and his friends.
Each video tackles a unique example of anti-social behaviour, including swearing and shouting, gathering in intimidating groups, drinking alcohol in public, buying vapes from illegal dealers and misbehaving on trains.
The campaign also features Super Spud’s recommendations for safe, low-cost activities in the area to divert young people into more appropriate summer fun.
Cabinet Member for Public Safety, Gordon Stewart explains how the inspiration for the campaign was born.
He said: “The idea for Super Spud and associates came from focus groups hosted in Cramlington, facilitated by the County Council’s Safer Communities’ team and Cramlington Youth Project.
“I’m immensely proud of the young people who, knowing the impact of anti-social behaviour, have come together to create a campaign that will help keep their peers both entertained and safe during the school holidays.”
The focus groups were attended by 13 – 16-year-olds in the area who worked with the council and commissioned partner Kaleidoscope: Creative Film Agency, to bring their ideas for a successful behaviour change campaign to life.
Susan Dungworth, Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “This campaign aims to reduce anti-social behaviour in areas where we have recently seen spikes, that we have jointly been focusing engagement and prevention efforts on, through Project Shield.
“I’ve been learning about geotargeting as the animations are going to be geotargeted to young people and their ‘influencers’ - anybody in their life who can influence their decisions, including older siblings and parents or guardians – in Ashington, Blyth and Cramlington.
“We’re engaging with our young people on platforms we are most likely to reach them, including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and audio streaming channels.
“The messages in these adverts encourage young people to consider the consequences of anti-social behaviour and think carefully about how their behaviour can help their communities stay safe and enjoyable for all this summer.”