Clemenger BBDO Wellington has launched NZTA Thoughts – a ‘flexible content’ TVC series for the aimed at stoner drivers.
The visual story follows two young guys driving home after a session in the afternoon. The driver is stoned; he’s compensating and trying really hard to remain focused on the road but his mind wanders and chaos unfolds.
In the first version Thoughts – released last Sunday – none of the characters talk.
“Thoughts is a blank canvas,” said Clemenger ECD Brigid Alkema. “It’s flexible piece of content, purposely designed for people to now play with. We’ve invited comedians to write and voice what’s going on in their wandering minds to animate the series.
“Every time you see it, you’ll hear something different – from straight out nonsense to something topical happening in NZ or around the world.”
The current iteration features the voiceover of comedian Josh Thomson, adding commentary to the wandering mind of the ad’s stoner driver. As the Thoughts campaign continues different comedians will add their own interpretation of wandering minds to the same section of the ad.
Continuing on from the award-winning work of Blazed and Tinnyvision, Thoughts shows what can go wrong on the road when your mind is affected by drugs, says NZTA principal advisor Rachel Prince.
“As a nation we’ve bought the message not to drink then drive, but many Kiwis are complacent about the effects of driving stoned. We want to help Kiwis make the right decision not to drive after taking drugs.
“The ad is based on insight that people think driving stoned isn’t a big deal because they can compensate for being a bit slow by driving more slowly and carefully.”
Alkema says the agency didn’t want to stereotype stoners. “There’s no one ‘stoner’ audience so the idea of creating different personas voiced by a range of comedians lets us reflect many different audiences, with the core truth relatable to all.”
Comedian and What We Do in the Shadows actor, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, will voice the next iteration of the ad to be released on Thursday 25 February.
CREDITS
Client: NZ Transport Agency
Principal Scientist: Paul Graham
Principal Advisor: Rachel Prince
Agency: Clemenger BBDO/Proximity
Media Agency: OMD
Production Company: Ruskin Films
Director: Nathan Price
Producer: Claris Harvey
DOP: Ginny Loans
Editor: Tim Mauger
Original Music: Lee Prebble and Barnaby Weir
Sound Design: Paul Stent
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