Victorian Government launches ‘The Unsinkable Guy’ campaign via TBWA\Melbourne to shake the overconfidence of men around water
In response to men representing four out of five drowning deaths in Victoria over the past ten years, the Victorian Government Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) has released a campaign via TBWA\Melbourne, highlighting the importance of water safety among men.
Men aged 25-64-years-old have been identified as a priority audience, as they have proven to be less engaged in water safety messaging and advice, due to an overestimation of their own capabilities around water.
To shake this audience out of their overconfidence, the Victorian Government Department of Justice and Community Service is launching ‘The Unsinkable Guy’ – a fully integrated campaign demonstrating that no matter how confident you are, no-one is unsinkable.
Starring four inflatable multicultural ‘Unsinkable Guys’ across a variety of coastal and inland water activities, the campaign seeks to capture the target audience’s attention through a light-hearted, entertaining approach that resolves on a serious safety note.
Running across TV, digital, social, radio and press, ‘The Unsinkable Guy’ will also have a social presence of his own, documenting the (Mis)Adventures of Unsinkable Guy and his friends across Instagram and Facebook.
Says Ricci Meldrum, managing director of TBWA\Melbourne: “The DJCS team have been fantastic to work with on this important community safety campaign. And working with inflatable talent certainly had its benefits – they weren’t so great taking direction, but always kept a smile on their face.”
The integrated campaign, created and produced by TBWA\Melbourne, launches across TV, digital, social, radio and press, with media led by OMD.
Client: Victorian Government Department of Justice and Community Safety
Manager, Campaigns Strategic Communications Branch: Michelle Windsor
Senior Adviser, Campaigns Strategic Communications Branch: Shae Wiggins
Creative Agency: TBWA\Melbourne
Media Agency: OMD
Production: TBWA\Melbourne
30 Comments
Clean, simple, eye-catching and timely message. Good work to all involved!
LOVE this work. So simple, gets the message across
To get a govt dept on board on something actually creative that will grab attention is no small effort. Well done to all involved. It’s solid stuff and will make blokes look.
This is a cracker!
…that thinking that this would save anyone’s life.
Seriously. Imagine it.
have a cry – this is advertising
Fun, good spots.
I don’t mind the idea but the art direction is a bit basic. Those posters could have worked a lot harder.
ooo I really love this
Taking Diversity to a whole new Level. Love it.
Freshest thing in ages. Everyone should take note of this before they make another rubbish montage or UK/USA rip-off.
I like the old ones as well – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogSPi77JdK8
How is that even remotely the same? hahahahahahhahah
Meet inflataham.
Remember me?
Missed art direction opportunity. The lockup is just centered text and the images look ungraded. Could have had some fun craft.
great fun, and fabulous that the agency managed to convince the government to go with this idea.
But nowhere near as well crafted.
Great idea. Poor craft.
This makes me want to have a beer by the water
Such an important message leading into the holidays – great work!!
I hope the whimsical nature of the campaign works. After the year we have had, I think heaps of people in the target audience will be out and about around water in the coming weeks.
…to see an agency showing up to support their own work.
These are okay, definitely not “brilliant” or “the freshest thing in ages”.
Just taking static images from the TV does not a poster campaign make.
On the positive side, I concur with comments applauding getting a creative idea past a government client. Although I doubt it has the gravitas to penetrate the thick skulls of those who need to take the message on board.
Average, non-advertising human will see happy inflatable man, that’s not sinking, appearing in fact to be having a laugh despite some evident risk.
They may also see some confusing words that have a different message.
Is it clever? No. But is it clear? Also no.
All the applause for this makes me despair.
It’s rubbish and it asks people to try and read more into it than a safety message should ever demand.
FFS advertising, grow up.
Can’t believe the best you could do was turn it into a weak joke and have no CTA other than telling someone how to think on a TVC and a digital banner ad when people are losing their lives, friends, fathers to bad/drunk decision making.
That’s ripe, Meet Graham is one of the biggest rip offs in advertising history. See natural born smoker.
I’d never seen Natural Born Smoker, and Ive been in advertising for 15 years… it’s hideous! Definitely can see Meet Graham leaning very heavily on it.
So it will be heaps cheaper to make.
This ad is a disgrace, whenever kids are drowning, who has to jump in to save them? Always dads. But rather than respect men in their 40s who have died trying to save their families, this ad mocks them as balding, laughable, fat inflatables whose deaths are humorous not tragic. Perhaps your next fabulous ad could poke fun at women who have died as a result of domestic violence or pedestrians who have died crossing the road.