006 Protect the NHS

Date: March 2020
Credit: HM Government/NHS

This now iconic poster marked a dramatic shift in the government's public health messaging. With three simple lines borded in  red and yellow tape, the message was unequivocal: we were in a state of emergency. Some have likened the message's potency to a 'tattoo on the mind'—effective for its simplicity and consistency. Explaining the poster's potency to the Telegraph, a senior Downing St insider said that it was "not just an instruction', it also told the public 'why [they] are doing it. It was built around the concept of emergency so people could appreciate how stark the times were. We needed action.'