Westpac Chopper Appeal Month kicks off with new video series via DDB, Facebook + Starcom

Kiwis can follow the journey of a young woman trapped in a car, awaiting rescue, in a new confronting campaign for the 2015 Westpac Chopper Appeal Month. Released by Westpac, in partnership with DDB, Facebook and Starcom, the online video is designed to give an understanding of the often life-saving work of the rescue helicopters and most importantly, to provoke Kiwis into action and donate.

WATCH THE FIRST VIDEO

WATCH THE SECOND VIDEO

WATCH THE THIRD VIDEO

WATCH THE FOURTH VIDEO

Says Oliver Lynch, Westpac’s head of brand and marketing: “There’s a lot of demand for the charity dollar in New Zealand and we wanted to cut through the clutter and deliver a message about the chopper that would be hard to ignore – that when you’re waiting for help to arrive, every second counts.”

The first three videos in the four-part short-film, produced by the Sweet Shop, play on the timelines of regular Facebook users over the age of 18 and show scenes of a woman trapped in a car waiting for help following a serious accident. As people watch the stories unfold scene by scene, they can see how her story ends by visiting chopperappeal.co.nz and see the difference public donations make as sheÂ’s rescued by the Westpac Rescue crew.

Says Lynch: “The use of video footage, created specifically for online, is an example of how content is evolving past passive viewing and into driving engagement. The partnering of emotive storytelling and a smart media strategy from Starcom ensures that the story is built over time to drive the point home that every second counts.”

Over the past few months DDB has been working hard to push the limits of what Facebook can do and the campaign launches soon after Haydn Kerr, DDB’s digital creative director, presented the concept at the world-first Facebook Hackathon in California for key creative.

Says Kerr: “The whole campaign has been developed with the help of the Facebook Creative Shop in the US, as well as heavy involvement from Facebook New Zealand.”

Says Melissa Oppenheim, business manager for Facebook’s Creative Council: “DDB New Zealand and Westpac worked with our team to develop a campaign that tells a meaningful story to the people that matter to its business. We believe people want to experience advertising in the News Feed that provides value and benefit.”

Oliver says while no one ever expects to be in situations like this, every year more than 5,900 rescues are carried out by rescue helicopter crews across the country.

“We hope that the campaign captures the imagination of New Zealanders. By showing the woman being rescued, it serves to highlight that every donation has a direct impact on helping to save lives.”

Westpac

Digital Manager: Max Haveux