The Victorian State Emergency Service launches new StormSafe digital campaign via Deepend
The Victorian State Emergency Service (SES) has launched its annual StormSafe campaign with a new interactive digital marketing campaign and video via Deepend.
Says Lachlan Quick, SES media and community information manager: “Storms can happen anywhere at anytime with very little warning. What we need is for Victorian’s to understand that by doing a few small things to prepare their homes, they can save themselves thousands of dollars in damages.”
The Deepend team have created the campaign that includes a buyout of The Age, Facebook advertising and a series of web videos that introduced the character ‘Storm Man’.
The persona of “Storm Man” was created as the central character used across the videos. The ‘tongue in cheek’ feel of the videos brings humour to scenarios that people partake in everyday.
The tagline of “You never know when the storm will hit” drives home a serious message in a fun, light-hearted way.
Says Fred Haas, Deepend’s creative director: “Storm Man was all about putting a face to the force of Mother Nature. We used SES volunteers to play all of the roles to give an extra sense of authenticity.”
SES is largely synonymous with promoting messages of a serious nature, so the move to making their audience laugh was an unexplored tact.
17 Comments
There’s going to be a flood (sorry) of comments blasting this for (a) its direct resemblance to Tango’s “Orange Man” and (b) the less than stellar acting of Mr Embattled Home Owner Guy, but I’ll still tip my hat directly to the client for having the courage to buy into a slightly unconventional route.
A really bad MR Wind ad rip off
Oh. This is the worst possible way to rip off Mr Wind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mTLO2F_ERY
Idiotic, ill-informed and absolutely no chance of working.
Could have bought a duck-punt and saved a few cats but you go and spend your meager budget on this?
Stop calling a video ‘Viral’ before it actually has gone viral.
embarrassing.
“Storm Man was all about putting a face to the force of Mother Nature. We used SES volunteers to play all of the roles to give an extra sense of authenticity.” What does this sentence mean? Surely the volunteers were used to keep casting costs down and allow more to be spent on the sfx CD and library music? That body paint couldn’t have been cheap either. And tell me there wasn’t more than one take on that broken flowerpot.
Ha! The acting performance of the home owner is so atrociously hammy it actually made me smile. A cheap looking, (obviously no Mr. Wind), totally mental spot that might just appeal to dope smokers the world over.
Weather or not (like that, punsters?) this resembles something you ad nerds who live entirely in an ad universe bubble have seen before, this is a great little ad, and will communicate to the 99.999999% of the population who aren’t fixated on advertising.
That is without a doubt the most egregious use of the word ‘great’ I have ever seen in my life.
This piece of work is so far from “a great little ad” that it makes the worst ad you’d ever seen in your life (prior to this effort) a masterpiece in comparison.
Everyone involved should, quite frankly, be ashamed of themselves.
I don’t think you can actually launch a ‘viral’ video. stop. it.
Just saying…
Bit harsh there, 10.56.
There’s been far egregiouserer stuff sent in to this blog, and which had budgets ten times the size. Award juries aren’t going to shower this with, er, anything, but for a low-budget spot acted by amateurs, it’s a fair effort.
So, SES, if you receive any further flak, do what our good Lord did, and tornado cheek.
….just remember this ad next time someone mentions that.
….And this was made by “professionals”
I’ve watched the second “viral” twice – the one with Mr Tango Wind hilariously sending a tree crashing onto the roof of a house where two people, sick with overacting, have taken to their beds. It still only has 7 views on YouTube. Come On CB bloggers. Let’s get it into double figures before it drop off the blog into obscurity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB4VSmv3r6g&feature=plcp
I’ve done my part for SES video fame, so it’s up to 9 views and, er, climbing.
This may be a lesson in how and why not to seed “viral” videos into YouTube, though. For every Roller Babies or Little Vader, there are literally thousands that are trying to will themselves into “viral” status. If a client has very little money, should these YouTube “virals” even be proposed any more?
Great News! As of Sunday, the second viral has had 22 views. If each of those people can now convince a million other people to watch the spot, it could theoretically be seen by the entire population of Australia.
Let’s do this, folks!
All Comments. This was a charity job for the SES you Advertising #$%^&*#. Do you really think any TV commercials have great acting, scripts and performances. If you want a real job in the film and television try making a real film or a TV series. All TVC’s are on the same level…lame!!! get over your comments and stop blowing smoke up your own ass…