Sydney Swans fly blind for NSW Government in new ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ campaign via Gemba

Gemba and Transport for NSW have once again joined forces, together they have developed ‘Don’t Fly Blind’ – a new execution continuing the long-running ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ campaign, in partnership with the Sydney Swans.

‘Don’t Fly Blind’ was a fun experiment that brought together three Sydney Swans players, a blindfold, and a pointed message: Don’t get distracted by your phone while driving.

Gemba wanted to test how well the Swans players could perform their elite footy skills blindfolded. Could they take a specky, run through the pack or even kick a goal when they couldn’t see? The content captured on the day showed that it was next to impossible for Swans stars Tom McCartin, Harry Cunningham, and Callum Mills to complete any of their usual footy moves.

So why ‘Flying Blind?’ This year’s campaign message was based on one hard-hitting fact – when you look at your phone for two seconds while driving at 60km per hour you ‘drive blind’ for over 33 meters. A lot can go wrong over that distance.

Gemba produced social, digital, and in-stadia content that raises awareness of the dangers of driving illegally using a mobile phone, and encourages drivers to avoid mobile phone distraction through the ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ campaign message.

Accompanying the ‘Don’t Fly Blind’ campaign is the in-stadia big screen activation – Distracted Cam. A live and interactive execution, Distracted Cam finds fans distracted by their phones rather than enjoying the full matchday experience.

Distracted fans are projected onto the big screen at the SCG, the moment however is only realised when the fans look up from their phone. The message here is simple – it’s easy to be distracted by your mobile phone from what’s happening around you, so get your hand off it while driving.

Says John Weir, creative director at Gemba: “This was loads of fun to make. It’s always nice to use athletes in a way that lets them do what they do best – perform… albeit blindfolded in this case! But importantly, we also had a serious message which we had to impart – namely, ‘get your hand off your phone while driving’. And I think that’s something we definitely landed with this campaign.”

The campaign is currently live in the market, leveraging Sydney Swans players, stadium big screen, digital, social, and other in-stadia assets.

Client: Transport for NSW
Director, Marketing & Sponsorship: Paul Ibsen
Sponsorships & Partnerships: Sally English

Lead Agency: Gemba
Executive Creative Director: Boyd Hicklin
Creative Director: John Weir
Senior Manager – Creative & Production: Alexandra Longbottom
Creative Producer: Ally Kirkwood
Graphic Designer: Honey Terrill
Senior Account Director: Hugh Rogan
Account Management: Alannah Brady
Senior Marketing Consultant: Brandon Stobbs

Production Company: Chisel Productions
Director: Patrick Sidoti
Executive Producer: Isabelle Seeto
Production Manager: Pippa Martino
Director of Photography: Peter Danks
Editor: Benjamin Bowles
Grade & Online: Chisel
Sound: KLANG – Sound & Music Ideas