As Holden State of Origin kicks off NRL launches new mental health awareness campaign via R/GA
With the eyes of the sports-obsessed nation poised to watch the Holden State of Origin which kicks off tonight, the NRL have partnered with R/GA Sydney and AIRBAG to create this campaign to shine a light on mental health.
Says Ariel Martin, director, AIRBAG: “This subject matter has touched the lives of me and many of my friends. In fact, most of the crew who banded together to create this film have been affected by friends who have suffered with mental health. Tonally, we were going for a bit of an absurd vibe – we didn’t want the audience to be put off by something that felt too earnest, where they could feel the message coming. So visually, I was eager to make it feel as real as possible.”
Says Craig Brooks, ECD, R/GA Sydney: “There’s a real hesitancy for Australians to take action when it comes to the mental health of their mates. Men especially aren’t comfortable approaching the topic or offering support. We wanted to make it clear that they can’t stay on the sidelines. If they see their mate struggling, they need to step in and help them out.”
Says Alex Tizzard, EP, AIRBAG Sydney: “I love Ariel’s vision in bringing this metaphor to life – what a game of footy looks like if we treated it like a conversation around mental health. It’s a sensitive yet visually arresting way to approach this subject matter we all need to be talking more about.”
This is Ariel Martin’s second campaign for R/GA Sydney and NRL this month. For work enquiries, contact alex@airbag.co or martin@airbag.co.
Client: NRL
Senior Marketing Manager: Kate Chapman
Community Manager Health & Projects Neesha Eckersley
Marketing & Brand Specialist: Lani Evans
Agency: R/GA Sydney
Production Company: AIRBAG
Director: Ariel Martin
Producer: Megan Ayers
Executive Producer Sydney: Alex Tizzard
Head of Production/EP: Martin Box
Managing Partner: Adrian Bosich
Casting Director: Steve Ray CGA
9 Comments
This is great work. Such a relatable circumstance for blokes, beautifully shot and edited. Bravo.
Really great stuff. Fantastic message and it seamlessly makes it relatable to the brand.
Love it. Well done.
I really like that.
Easy message for that audience group to take on board.
PS, can we please have the vids embedded in the page CB?
This is great. Simple and uncluttered. I think the tough nuts will sit up and think after this.
Fantastic analogy. Well executed. Nailed the brief.
This is fantastic and will make a genuine difference. Great work Brooksy, Jono and team.
Simple and good. Good
Strong, impactful creative. Impressive work by the NRL. This has instilled my faith that great work can come out of Australia when client and agency think in synch.
I hope the NRL pushes this harder than their Drink responsible spot, with Tedesco, doing the rounds.