With phone scams in South Korea reaching alarming levels, the Korean National Police Agency (KNP) is enlisting the public's help to fight back in a new campaign.
Created by Cheil, 'Voice Wanted' is a response to the surge in phone scam losses, which have amounted to US$680 million (one trillion won) this year in Korea. As scams evolve, perpetrators are resorting to more sophisticated tactics, including fake delivery notices, government impersonations, and even AI voice cloning.
While identifying perpetrators is more difficult than ever, the KNPA found that people's voices carry a unique pattern, just like fingerprints. The campaign aims to crowdsource voice data by encouraging the public to report scam calls to police, who can then use "voiceprints" from audio recordings to pinpoint offenders.
The campaign comprises of striking posters built from actual waveforms from the voices of perpetrators, visualised through digital portraits. Each poster comes with a QR code that leads to an interactive platform where people can learn more about emerging fraud patterns and upload audio files of suspicious calls.
By aggregating these audio reports, the KNPA can cross-reference scam voiceprints against a database using enhanced voice analysis tools to identify suspects and trace organised crime groups. Telecoms can also tap into this data to issue alerts when potential scam calls occur.
Meanwhile, the promotional film (see above) takes viewers into the gritty underworld of scams. The short film shows the ways police use this technology to search for matching voices from scams and clamp down on offenders.
“We wanted to show that every voice leaves a trace—and that citizen participation can turn that trace into action,” said acting KNPA Commissioner Yoo Jae-sung. “This campaign isn’t just about awareness, but prevention. Together, we can build a safer community free from phone scam crimes.”
The campaign rolls out online and OOH, with 14,000 posters distributed in Korea.
Campaign's take: The core message is stark in its simplicity: every voice leaves a signature. Cheil bridges data forensics, design, and creativity in a powerful campaign that proves there's still a lot of room for innovation in adland. The way the unseen is visualised is brilliant and quietly unnerving. Much like Cheil’s 2023 Cannes-winning Knock Knock campaign, which gave survivors of domestic abuse a lifeline, this campaign turns the medium into the message, with a lasting impact on crime prevention and public safety.
CREDITS
Campaign Title: Voice Wanted
Client: Korean National Police Agency
Woong-Seop Yoon, Senior Inspector
Eyng-Gue Moon, Superintendent
Kyoungsik Yoon, Director
Ho-Jun Moon, Inspector
Sang-Hyun Park, Superintendent
Chan-Woo Park, Senior Superintendent
Creative Agency: Cheil Korea
Executive Creative Director: Seongphil Hwang
Copywriter: Seungree Kang
Art Director: Taeyul Ko
Production: Junpasang, Bounce Creative
Post Production: Eliot
