NZ had successfully eliminated Covid-19, and the country was heading into summer virus-free – with large gatherings such as music festivals going ahead. However, too many Kiwis were adopting a complacent attitude towards health & safety, unaware of the threat that the global pandemic still posed.

Our objective was to target the most complacent NZers; young people attending large music festivals. A generation less likely to follow instruction, and more likely to be the drivers of superspreader events.

Our message was to ask them to wash & sanitise their hands, scan QR codes at events, and turn on their enabled NZ Covid tracer app.

The problem was, our audience was there for a good time, not for a boring government announcement. That’s why the solution had to be more than a message, but a relatable, memorable festival moment - led by an influential figure who truly cared about their health.

The Public Service Banger - the world's most unconventional Covid-19 PSA.

We collaborated with a local DJ, MACSEN, to produce a dubstep Covid-19 Public Service Announcement & music video that played at NZ’s biggest festivals.

The track features ‘national treasure’ and ‘influencer’ NZ Director-General of Health, Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, telling festival-goers to wash & sanitise their hands, and use their bluetooth enabled NZ Covid-Tracer app. Delivering a serious message of national safety in the most unconventional way possible. The experience was so engaging the entire crowd sang and danced and shared it.

Our PR strategy was three fold.

We connected in with key audiences using topical popular culture. Using the context of popular culture to target complacent festival goers in their moment of escapism, by ‘sampling’ the iconic Bloomfield & his covid safety announcements into a dance remix. We created an angle that delivered alternative media avenues, and packaged this up into a highly shareable music video with distorted visuals and animation, for festivals to use within their programs to a captive audience.

We harnessed the credibility and national love for Bloomfield.

Leveraging Dr Bloomfeild as the PR vehicle allowed us to reach beyond festivals and back into the traditional media, reinforcing good Covid-Safety practices for the whole nation. This combination gave the message one of the biggest and most PR-able stages that the world of government has ever seen, and turned young complacent people into health and safety advocates.

Ashley Bloomfield’s PSA played between sets, projected onto festival screens, turning each stage into an influential media channel, and our film into an experience that targeted the most complacent New Zealanders, at the very moment they needed to hear our message of safety.

It was launched at NZ's biggest New Year’s festival; Rhythm and Vines, and has now been played over 100 times at festivals and events.

The idea went on to become a media sensation, reported on by global such as the New York times it spread onto social media, and turned personal profiles into earned media channels, helping our message of health and safety to reach even more people.

The PSA helped us cut through the complacent attitude held by thousands of young NZ festival-goers, and delivered a message of safety in an unforgettable way. Since the PSA first aired at festivals, there has been a 30% growth in QR codes scanned and a 195% increase in use of Bluetooth Covid-19 tracing.

Organic PR generated off the back of the PSA had 2,300,000 views, created 47,000,000 organic impressions, and was heralded on the New York Times, as well as the Guardian as an example of New Zealand’s world-leading Covid-19 communication response. The NZ Government invested $40,000 NZD into the campaign, their ROI was 0.12c for every kiwi who danced, 0.02c for every view and 0.08c for every opportunity to see. 1 in 4 Kiwi millennials danced to an ad, from a government, encouraging young people to wash their hands.