The Society of Will Writers is relying on poo emojis to encourage people to write wills

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By Katie King on

New marketing campaign is a bit sh*t

poop

An organisation promoting the “advancement, education and ethical standards” of will writing has launched a campaign called ‘No will equals poo’, featuring everyone’s favourite emoji — the poo.

A far cry from The Society of Will Writers’ very straight main website, the social media campaign’s accompanying video (embedded below) asks viewers:

Do you want to be remembered only for the mess you leave behind?

Though the campaign is instinctively a bit cringey, there is method behind the madness, according to its creators anyway. Speaking to Legal Futures, Brian McMillan — director general of the non-profit making, self-regulatory society — said:

Using plain speak and language that is in everyday use and easily understood, The Society of Will Writers aims to raise awareness of the need to have a will.

He added:

I am sure that if asked directly how most people would like to be remembered after their death, it would not be for the mess they leave behind for families to sort out at a time when they should be mourning. And dying intestate is the final act.

In recent months, emojis seem to have really found their feet in the often ultra-serious world of law and legal practice.

In September, High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson delighted the legal twitterati when he decided to use a smiley face emoticon in one of his family law judgments, having also revealed he’d kept his ruling as “short as possible so that the mother and the older children [involved in the case] can follow it”.