Bleak Friday

Britain’s high streets and local shops are facing mass threats to their existence. As giant businesses slashed prices on Black Friday, Simply Business, a champion of small businesses, declared it Bleak Friday, a state of emergency. Taking inspiration from endangered species lists, we created The Small Business Extinction List not just predicting extinction, but showing what it looks like. We blacked out storefronts and transformed an in-danger pub into The Extinction Arms. The campaign hijacked 1 in 8 Black Friday conversations, turning them to #BleakFriday news stories and highlighting the need to put small businesses front-of-mind during the crucial holiday shopping period.