LNDT. Campaign for theatre’s 84th season

The campaign started with the pithy declaration: DON'T GO TO THE THEATRE. Posters had a visual with one object – a seat from the renovated Grand Hall covered in plastic – reinforcing the message. This anti-invitation caused ripples not just in the theatre community but across society: some were angry with the state theatre's stance, others did semiotic analysis and sought the ad's CTA, and still others parodied the visual in ads for their own brands.

A week of heated discussions at dinner tables and on social media ended with the poster for the first season premiere - that of ROULETTE. Soon after, ads for all of the season premieres saw the light of day, with one additional word added to the main campaign slogan. A different one for each production. DON'T GO TO THE THEATRE. YOU'LL GET USED TO IT (PRIPRASI), YOU'LL COME BACK (SUGRĮŠI), YOU'LL CHANGE (PASIKEIS), YOU'LL BE HUMANISED (SUŽMOGĖSI), YOU'LL FALL IN LOVE (PAMILSI). The extra word both gave as a reason for why it is better not to go to the theatre for those with weaker nerves, and reflected the main idea of each premiere. The posters promoting the premieres featured well-known actors sitting in the theatre seat from the first poster: Rimantė Valiukaitė, Gytis Ivanauskas, Jūratė Vilūnaitė, Aistė Zabotkaitė, Domantas Starkauskas, and others. The provocative campaign sparked interest and started a discussion about theatre not only among those already interested in culture but also with people who previously never talked about theatre. And it didn't all end just with words: the LNDT's attendance doubled in 2023 compared to 2022.