The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) had one goal – to make Maori (indigenous New Zealanders) reconsider how safe it is to smoke marijuana and drive.
Research revealed a key insight: many Maori men are proud fathers who want their kids to look up to them. They also think their kids don’t recognise their behaviour, despite often driving stoned with them in the car.
This audience is likely to dismiss a prohibitionist anti-drugs message. It's also likely to be turned-off by a traditional television advertisement, especially one coming from the government. The strategy was therefore to use branded entertainment as a way to tell a believable story, and make the message by Maori for Maori, in their most trusted media.
NZTA formed a collaborative partnership with the Maori audience's favourite TV channel; Maori TV. They became the main messenger – with any government 'branding' limited to an end-line and logo.
The result was ‘Blazed’. In this short film, instead of alienating the dads by attributing blame, the aim was to get them to start questioning their own behaviour.
The key insight was that the dads would be incredibly uncomfortable to learn their kids knew what they were up to.
The kids' playful mockery of the dad's behaviour in 'Blazed' questions the morality of driving stoned, but in a way the audience can own.
Maori TV premiered ‘Blazed’ during one of the channel’s most popular peak shows ‘ Homai Te Pakipaki’. It was introduced via the hosts, within the live show. No end-line, no call to action, not an advert to be tuned out. Just a very emotive short film. It only ran on-air once.
The audience was told they could only see it again on the show’s YouTube page, thereby re-enforcing the legitimacy of the message ownership.