Readers will already have seen the distressing TVC of a woman trapped in a crashed car, shot by The Sweet Shop for DDB’s Westpac Chopper Appeal Month campaign. Now they can see DDB and Starcom’s follow-up Facebook videos – including the finale (above).
The videos are designed to give an understanding of the often lifesaving work of the rescue helicopters and to provoke Kiwis into action and donate.
“There’s a lot of demand for the charity dollar in New Zealand and we wanted to cut through the clutter and deliver a message about the chopper that would be hard to ignore – that when you’re waiting for help to arrive, every second counts,” said Westpac head of brand & marketing Oliver Lynch.
The first three videos play on the timelines of regular Facebook users over the age of 18 and show scenes of a woman trapped in a car waiting for help following a serious accident. As people watch the stories unfold scene by scene, they can see how her story ends by visiting www.chopperappeal.co.nz and see the difference public donations make as she’s rescued by the Westpac Rescue crew.
“The use of video footage, created specifically for online, is an example of how content is evolving past passive viewing and into driving engagement,” says Oliver. “The partnering of emotive storytelling and a smart media strategy from Starcom ensures that the story is built over time to drive the point home that every second counts.”
Over the past few months DDB has been working hard to push the limits of what Facebook can do and the campaign launched soon after Haydn Kerr, DDB’s digital creative director, presented the concept at the world-first Facebook Hackathon in California for key creative.
“The whole campaign has been developed with the help of the Facebook Creative Shop in the US, as well as heavy involvement from Facebook New Zealand,” Haydn said.
Melissa Oppenheim, business manager for Facebook’s Creative Council, said: “DDB and Westpac worked with our team to develop a campaign that tells a meaningful story to the people that matter to its business. We believe people want to experience advertising in the News Feed that provides value and benefit.”
Oliver says while no one ever expects to be in situations like this, every year more than 5900 rescues are carried out by rescue helicopter crews across the country.
“We hope that the campaign captures the imagination of New Zealanders. By showing the woman being rescued, it serves to highlight that every donation has a direct impact on helping to save lives,” he says.
- The public can donate and view the rescue video at www.chopperappeal.co.nz.
- View all four videos here
CREDITS
Westpac
Head of Brand & Marketing: Oliver Lynch
Brand Manager: Amber Willett
Agency: DDB Group New Zealand
Chief Creative Officer: Damon Stapleton
Executive Creative Director: Shane Bradnick
Digital Creative Director: Haydn Kerr
Senior Copywriter: Ben Pegler
Art Director: Sarsha Drakeford
Copywriter: Geordie Wilson
Planning Director: Rupert Price
Managing Partner: Elizabeth Beatty
Account Director: Mark Wilson
Senior Account Manager: Deepika Goundar
Account Executive: Kate Coppersmith
Executive Producer: Judy Thompson
Agency TV Producer: Samantha Royal
Digital Designer: Dean Pomfrett
Senior Digital Producer: Johannes Gertz
Production Company: The Sweet Shop
Director: Sam Holst
Executive Producer: Fiona King
Producer: Anna Stuart
DOP: Ian McCarroll
Offline Editor: Michael Lonsdale
Sound Design: The Coopers
Starcom (Media)
Business Director: Paula Adams
Business Manager: John Farrell
Head of Digital: Nick Boulstridge
Digital Business Manager: Nathan Brown
Digital Manager: Max Haveux
Share this Post
