Neon protects the nation’s most vulnerable in latest ‘House of the Dragon’ campaign via DDB NZ

DDB Aotearoa and Neon are protecting the nation’s most vulnerable in the latest campaign ‘Protect the Flock’ for ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel series ‘House of the Dragon’ which launches on Sky’s SoHo and Neon today Monday June 17.

In the new season of House of the Dragon all must choose a side as civil war looms, especially the most vulnerable.

In New Zealand that means our 25 million sheep. The stakes are particularly high for our woolly friends, given that they are a dragon’s favourite snack.

To get the nation ready for the new season, DDB Aotearoa and Neon, in true kiwi style, have created armour for sheep, or Baattlewear.

Says Rory McKechnie, executive creative director, DDB Aotearoa: “The global HBO campaign encourages all to choose either Team Green or Team Black, and while cities like New York have put banners on the Brooklyn Bridge and other prominent landmarks, we felt the obvious answer here was putting armour on sheep.”

The lines have been drawn along a traditional sheep breed rivalry, with the Romneys of the north siding with Team Green and the southern Merinos aligning with Team Black. Each suit of armour pays homage to both the characteristics of the factions in House of the Dragon, and the Romney and Merino breeds.

Animal safety experts and handlers were engaged alongside two well trained sheep – a Romney called Kerry and a Merino named Sugar.

Working with production company Good Oil and production design agency Bootleg, the Sky campaign is spearheaded by a film, and will also roll out across out of home, social and experiential. Fans of the series also had the chance to see the beautiful and intricately designed armour up close at Armageddon, which took place this past weekend in Auckland.

Dan Kelly, chief customer officer for Sky, said that the team at Sky were loving being able to promote the series in a uniquely New Zealand way: “Kerry and Sugar in Westerosi-styled armour are recognisably Kiwi, while also being true to the style of House of the Dragon. We hope the legions of fans across this country – and hopefully further around the world – will get behind this iconic Kiwi internecine conflict.”

Adds McKechnie: “Bringing the rivalry of the two sides to life through a distinctly New Zealand lens was an interesting challenge, but we think the sheep nailed it. Now we just need to get armour on the other 25.07 million of them!”

House of the Dragon season 2 premiered on Sky’s SoHo and Neon on Monday, 17 June at 1pm (encore on SoHo at 8:30pm).

SKY/Neon:
Dan Kelly – Chief Customer Ocicer
Chas Ort – Head of Marketing, Brand & Planning
Lisa Doherty – Neon Marketing Lead

Creative Agency: DDB Group Aotearoa
Production Company: Good Oil
Executive Producer: Andrew McLean
Director: Connor Pritchard
Post Production Company: DDB Post
Production Online: DDB
Soundtrack/composer/music: DDB
Production Design: Bootleg
Photographer: Troy Goodall
Media Agency: OMD / Fuse