ASB partners with Youthline and launches new campaign via The Monkeys Aotearoa
To help accelerate the vital work of Youthline, ASB has entered into a three-year principal partnership with the mental health advocacy group, and has launched a new campaign to announce the new alliance, created by The Monkeys Aotearoa, part of Accenture Song.
The new campaign aims to help connect more young people with mental health support. It targets 12 to 19-year-olds – a group disproportionately affected by the challenges of mental distress, and overrepresented in New Zealand’s suicide statistics.
Says Lohit Kalburgi, chief transformation officer, ASB: “At ASB, we have a commitment to helping our rangatahi build the strong foundations they need to succeed in life. Through this three-year partnership, we want to ensure Youthline can be there for any young New Zealander who is struggling.
“Work is underway to create new pathways for support. We’re helping to increase the number of Youthline counsellors to ensure thousands more young Kiwis get access to mental health support. And, we’re developing a student-led peer support programme that will be rolled out in schools across NZ where it’s needed most.”
Says Damon Stapleton, chief creative officer, The Monkeys Aotearoa: “Many young people experience feelings of being alone and overwhelmed. The transformation out of this hopelessness towards hope starts with talking. To ensure that all young people can take this important first step, the work demonstrates how something as simple as talking has the power to transform a seemingly hopeless situation.”
Says Tom Sykes, head of planning, The Monkeys: “We couldn’t be prouder to have worked with ASB to define how and where they could deliver on their brand purpose in the community, then helping them select the right partner to deliver real long-term impact, and now executing the programme and taking it to market with comms. Talking can be a big first step to hope for our teens, so it’s brilliant that ASB and Youthline are making sure there’s always someone there to listen.”
Directed by Joel Kefali at Good Oil, the ‘Talking Is The First Step’ campaign film is supported by online, out of home advertising and social.
Strategic & Creative agency: The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song
Chief Creative Officer: Damon Stapleton
Chief Business Officer: Storm Day
Head of Planning: Tom Sykes
Group Business Director: Ruth Coulson
Group Business Director: James Allan
Creative Directors: James Conner & Christie Cooper
Copy Writer: Nick Dellabarca
Art Director: Liz Richards
Senior Business Manager: Olive Broughton
Producer: Callum Crabb
ASB
Chief Transformation Officer: Lohit Kalburgi
Chief Marketing Officer: Helen Fitzsimons
Head of Brand: Sumi King
Head of Community, Sponsorship & Events: Mark Graham
Sponsorship Manager: Shelley Dunmore
Brand Lead: Elle Lee
Marketing Services Lead: Sharon Moffat
Associate Sponsorship Manager: Hannah McHugh
Senior Social Media Manager: Jasmine Taggart
Youthline
Fundraising, Marketing & Communications Manager: Elizabeth Maddison
Media Partners
Dentsu
Acquire
Search Republic
Film Company: Good Oil
Director: Joel Kefali
Managing Director: George Mackenzie
Executive Producer: Andrew McLean
Producer: Anna Stuart
DOP: Crighton Bone
Production Designer: Guy Treadgold
Editor: Dan Kircher
Post: Blockhead
Colourist: Dave Gibson
Photography: Collective Force | Reagen Butler
Music & Sound: Franklin Rd
41 Comments
I mean i get what you are trying to do but this isnt how you execute it.
Monkeys have been pretty disappointing in their first year. Yeah sure you win some big clients but the work has not matched your transformational PR statements.
Nice work. Not flashy, feels grounded in actually trying to help kids.
Finally someone trying to do work that’s right, and in this case sensitively, rather than trying to win awards.
Better than just chucking an ASB logo on another charity, looks like they’re properly funding something (as they should with a billion dollars profit).
Difficult topic to make an ad for…
It’s an important issue. Well done.
It’s always hard to do something new. Well done for trying. I am sure I can find fault if I try. But it’s way better than just sponsoring rugby or cricket. This might make a difference.
No idea why people hate on this. Simple idea executed well. Finally a bank behemoth putting some of their obscene profits towards solving one of NZ’s saddest problem.
I mean they could just do whats right and spend the $1m spent on media and production on donations to youthline.
Eek
why? why is it awful?
Is she sad or is she OD’ing on heroin. Or is Freddy Krueger snatching her up.
The film seems to skip the ‘”transformation”?
Unfortunately it’s a poorly lifted execution from a great piece of television reference. You expect better from the monkeys. Maybe they haven’t got the fire power yet?
https://youtu.be/MqDiLouoPhk
Powerful and well executed without having to lean on a Director’s 90″ to do the job. Nicely done.
Well made. Simple. Relevant.
Compared to other bank ads that seem to obsess about a colour and thousands of vignettes of NZ life this is pretty good.
This is a great partnership. Youthline needs all the money it can get, and luckily for them, ASB has a lot. But there is a 45” edit, which shows they’re doing it for the wrong reasons. It’s made to be a showpiece for The Monkeys.
all banks donate to charity in massive ways. Its nothing but corporate charity washing.
all ASB will have done is swap one charity for another – kidscan for youthline for example.
ANZ donate millions for Cancer Foundation.
Westpac for the chopper.
BNZ the same.
The issue is that lots of banks simply support the charity with funding etc but instead ASB is grandstanding on the mental health issue to improve their own brand love.
The KPIS will be Brand and Corporate Reputation I bet you. nothing to do with the amount of kids getting mental health support.
But this is a feeling most of us can relate to. If it gets more kiwi kids reaching out to talk to Youthline then ka pai
It’s heavy. But simple and attention grabbing, not wishy-washy.
Not necessarily a bad thing.
this ain’t bad. And it’s not a manifesto.
Feels like an awful lot of virtue signaling here from ASB. Not particularly convinced their 12-19 y/o target audience will be reached in any meaningful way. But I’m sure it makes ASB look good in front of their parents
I bet the cost to ASB of making this will dwarf their contribution to the charity. And then the Monkeys will spend $25k entering it into craft categories.
You are right in some respects in that it’s only 700k over 3 years to YouThline but how much is enough ? Banks make billions in profits so how much should go to charity?
I like that at least it isn’t a donation match or anything gimmicky like that
I do much prefer the mental health do nothing campaign overc this type of work
For some reason o find this uneasy
There are some bitter people on here aye. Got to wonder how many ad folks Juzza and Damon said “No thanks” to? The work is nice, yes it may be a bit close to its film reference. But if 1 kids calls youthline and finds support, then I thinks it’s doing ok and ASB putting some of it billions towards helping teenage kids then its got to be a good thing.
So good to see some proper craft
i think its lesss about the monkeys and more about the client having burnt so many bridges from all their previous stops that brings out the haters on this blog for this particular client
This had the potential to make me feel something, but just fell short. I wish it spent a big longer lingering on the way that depression makes you feel – like you have no interest in the world around you, like you’re suffocated by your own thoughts, like the world is permanently grey and muted. If it went a bit further it would likely have more resonance with people really feeling it.
Agree. Someone mentioned there was a 45 earlier in the comments, anyone know where that is?
Like the directors cut does
Damons linkedin post. I can only assume the client felt it too dark and depressing.
Where is this directors cut?
Is that really true? Because they definitely would have spent more than or very close to that on production and media here.
That would be really shameful to be saying it’s worth as much if not more to us to talk about what we’re doing rather than actually do more.
I dont think its fair to say that this ad and the types of ads likely to come from this partnership are only to benefit ASB. they are still promoting the youthline message of support and bringing awareness to yputhline and their text message service. thats beneficial to both parties. if you dont think a corporate should be getting any benefit in terms of their brand then everyone here is wasting their careers.
Ok I found the 45″ and it is much better. I sincerely hope some of our rangatahi get to see it. It is ‘dark’ because it is about depression.
I think this work has huge power so long as you only run the 45″.
A lot of people with strong views on mental health. But still quite happy to slag off the work of their peers when we all know the stress and anxiety of trying to get something out that’s any semblance how of you first presented it.
music kills it for me. should have been something she’d listen too or feel rather than that bank score. i bet they tried.
Made me stop and look, I knew it was for metal health – and I don’t think is was brand washing.
As the parent of two teenage gals, who I’ve witness struggle a bit over the last few years – I give it a thumbs up!