Cannes Contenders: Ogilvy, Auckland

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How will New Zealand perform at Cannes this year? In the lead up to the Festival, Campaign Brief will be showcasing the work we hope will impress the judges…

Ogilvy, Auckland

In 2015, New Zealand’s Police force was 85% white and 80% male. They wanted to move towards a mix that better reflected today’s society. This meant we had to appeal not just to a different target, but a completely different mindset. To achieve this, we had to overcome negative, “tough white guy” perceptions of the police. (Perceptions that were being heightened by almost daily media attention about police brutality in the US, even though New Zealand police officers don’t carry guns.) The brief was to portray policing as a job that required empathy and compassion. As well as addressing the gender & ethnic balance, we wanted to attract a more empathetic, compassionate batch of recruits. People to join the force not just to fight crime but help improve the lives of people in their communities. The idea behind this campaign was to pose the question “Do You Care Enough To Be A Cop?”. This idea is all about seeing policing in a completely different light. It puts aside the drug busts, car chases and cop show aspects of policing and places all the value on qualities like empathy and compassion. It’s all about helping people in need.

Ogilvy, Auckland

The mighty Kauri trees of New Zealand face extinction. Kauri dieback, an infectious soil-borne organism that hitches a lift on bushwalker’s shoes is killing these native giants at a rapid rate. Cleaning stations were set up by the Council for bushwalkers to spray and wipe their footwear before entering kauri forests, but 83% people failed to use them. Our task was to change peoples’ behavior by raising awareness around kauri dieback, making the disease a more pressing issue in the public eye. We knew the only way we could make the disease a more pressing issue, and change the behavior of bushwalkers was by letting them hear the pain kauri are going through. We wanted this message to be delivered from the kauri, connecting with our target audience on a more emotional level.