Background
The New Zealand Transport Agency was created in 2008 by the Land Transport Management Amendment Act. The Act combined the departments of Transit New Zealand and Land Transport New Zealand to form the newly developed NZTA. The purpose of the agency is to promote “safe and functional transport by land” (NZ Transport Agency, 2012). One of the biggest priorities for the department is drink driving.
Before launching a new advertising campaign in 2011, the NZ Transport Agency compiled a series of statistics on drink driving in the country. They reported that over 40 percent of all drink-driving crashes involve drunk drivers under the age of 24 (NZ Transport Agency, 2012). Furthermore, 82 percent of drunk drivers are male, and 34 percent are Maori (2012). They noted that 19 percent of all drunk drivers in accidents are aged 15-19, and 24 percent are aged 20-24. They would eventually use these figures to establish their targeted publics in the campaign.
The use of shock ads has been used many times in an effort to “scare” people from drinking and driving, but with minimal results. The NZ Transport Agency decided to try a different angle in their approach. Andrew Holt, one of the managing directors for the “Legend” project, said, “There’s still a role for ads that shock, but this ad is aimed at a particular niche where that message might not be getting through” (Fahy, 2011). According to the NZ Transport Agency webpage, “The goal of this advertising is to acknowledge the feelings a young man might have around speaking up when a friend is going to drive drunk. Thinking you might ‘look bad’ in a social situation is what is in the way for most people” (2012). They wanted young men to be able to tell their mates not to drive drunk without feeling awkward or ‘soft’. The creative minds behind the commercial believed that using humor would be the best approach to achieve their goal. The extensive strategy behind this campaign was a big reason for its overwhelming success.
Purpose of the Campaign and Publics
The main purpose of the campaign, which was titled “Legend,” was to persuade the audience to reduce drink driving in New Zealand, especially among young Maori males. The NZ Transport Agency hoped that by using humor in the advertisement, more people—especially those in their key publics— would stay engaged and remember the message. Oftentimes, with more serious advertisements, viewers feel like they are being ‘preached at,’ and are therefore more likely to change the channel or stop paying attention. The NZ Transport Agency teamed up with two different creative agencies, Clemenger BBDO and The Sweet Shop, to create the advertisement (Fahy, 2011).
The key public for this campaign was young Maori males, between the ages of 15 and 24, who have a driver’s license and who drink alcohol. Students were a large focus for the advertisement, since students are more likely to get into situations where drink driving can occur. The publics can be broadened to all young adults, both male and female, in New Zealand who enjoy going out and drinking with friends. Since older adults are less likely to be involved in drink driving accidents, they weren’t a key public, but most were undoubtedly still affected by the campaign.
The “Legend” Campaign
Here is the link to the video, titled “Legend.” It aired on 23 October 2011:
The commercial depicts a large group of mostly Maori young males at a party. Darcey-Ray Flavell-Hudson, who appeared in the popular Kiwi movie Boy, plays the protagonist of the spot (Morton, 2012). When he notices a friend is about to drive drunk, he wants to object, so he begins “interalising a really complicated situation,” including what a girl would think of him and what would happen if his friend were to die in an accident. He eventually speaks up, and his friend decides against driving. The advertisement closes with the line, “Stop a mate from driving drunk… Legend.”
The campaign went beyond just the TV spot, however. Other modes of communication were also used, like radio spots, outdoor ads, and digital signage (NZ Transport Agency, 2012). There were billboards on highways with the “Legend” slogan, as well as posters, coasters, and bar mats in pubs (2012). A digital sign with the slogan appeared at the ITM Cup Games (2012). All of these advertisements were strategic, because pubs and sporting events are two places where young adult males—the key public—are likely to be drinking and may try to drive home afterward.
Response and Effectiveness
The “Legend” campaign was a huge hit all over the country. It received over 120,000 views on YouTube in its first six days (Johnston, 2011). After that, the campaign really took off. According to a NZ Herald article from 4 November 2011, the video had received 940,000 views on YouTube in its first two weeks (Backhouse, 2011). The article also stated, “the ad was on track to reach over a million YouTube views within the next day…thought to be the fastest ever growth by a New Zealand ad” (Backhouse, 2011). There was a huge response to the campaign on social media sites, with many pages dedicated to the ad’s memorable phrases (like “ghost chips” and internalising a complicated situation”), which rapidly gathered tens of thousands of likes (Backhouse, 2011).
Within two weeks, one person from Wellington offered to sell a bag of “ghost chips” on Trade Me, with proceeds going toward support for the Horn of Africa famine (NZ Herald Online, 2011). The “ghost chips”—an empty Pak ‘n’ Save bag—received over 40,000 views and over 50 bids, eventually raising $265 for charity (Pak ‘n’ Save, 2011). On 2 November 2011, a parody music video called “Ghost Chips” was put up on YouTube and became quite popular by using many of the same memorable phrases as “Legend.” This video helped to spread the campaign’s popularity even further. The music video currently has over 733,000 views and is available for purchase on iTunes (The Cuzzies, 2011). At the end of 2011, the “Legend” campaign stole the show in a competition held by Massey University on Facebook to find the “quote of the year” in New Zealand (Massey University, 2011). The line “I’ve been internalizing a really complicated situation in my head” was voted number one, and “You know I can’t grab your ghost chips!” was voted second, with the two quotes combined receiving 40 percent of the overall voting (2011).
Over the next year, the “Legend” campaign continued with its massive popularity. According to a July 2012 NZ Herald article, New Zealand police began wearing and handing out rubber wristbands with the words “Stop a mate driving drunk, bloody legend” and “ghost chips” printed on them (Leask, 2012). Lesley Wallis, the national road policing communications manager, was quoted in the article about the wristbands, saying, “They are intended for police to give to the public when they are talking to young people in schools, expos, community engagement opportunities, etc.… They have proved to be hugely popular” (Leask, 2012). The Herald ran another article in 2012 regarding drink-driving statistics in New Zealand. According to the article, there was a “dramatic drop in the number of under-17s caught drink-driving, from 630 in 2007 to 305 last year [2011]” (Wade, 2012). The chief executive of Students Against Drink Driving, Anna Braidwood, was interviewed for the article, and she believed that the “Legend” campaign had a positive effect on those numbers. When asked about the ad, Braidwood said, “It just took off and it really seemed to resonate with young people… it’s not going to be a silver bullet, it’s not going to cure all, but it’s been one of those key messages put out there and young people have retained the information” (Wade, 2012).
There are several news values that helped this campaign become so successful, most specifically impact and proximity (Curtis, 2013). Nearly everyone is exposed to the dangers of drink driving at some point, so this campaign was easily relatable for most, if not all, viewers. Also, because New Zealand is a fairly small and close-knit country, proximity played a large role in its success. People really enjoyed seeing the success of an ad created here, with young Maori adults in the lead roles. There was not much else that the NZ Transport Agency could have done to improve this campaign, based on its success, but a follow-up ad in the next year or two might help to keep the idea relevant and bring it back into the spotlight. When asked about the idea of a follow-up ad back in 2012, Darcey-Ray Flavell-Hudson claimed he would be happy to star in more ads, with the quote, “Whatever they throw at me, I’ll do it” (Morton, 2012).
References
Backhouse, M. (2011, November 4). 'Ghost chips' ad to reach 1 million views - National - NZ Herald News. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10763849
Fahy, B. (2011, October 25). Speak up, or forever hold your ghost chips: new NZTA campaign changes tack on drink-driving message—UPDATED :: StopPress. Retrieved from http://www.stoppress.co.nz/blog/2011/10/speak-up-or-forever-hold-your-ghost-chips-new-nzta-campaign-changes-tack-on-drink-driving-message
Herald Online (2011, November 2). 'Ghost chips' for sale in online auction - National - NZ Herald News. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10763472
Johnston, K. (2011, October 27). 'Ghost chips' a hit in drink driving campaign | Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5864702/Ghost-chips-a-hit-in-drink-driving-campaign
Leask, A. (2012, July 10). Ghost chip wristbands: Have you got yours? (+videos) - National - NZ Herald News. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10818499
Massey University (2011, December 21). 'Legend' anti drink-drive line is quote of the year - Massey University. Retrieved from http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=B0317F92-EFE1-1739-6717-1760FB59CA88
Morton, J. (2012, May 28). 'Ghost chips' star heads back to school - National - NZ Herald News. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10809033
NZ Transport Agency (2012, November 14). Legend. Retrieved from http://www.nzta.govt.nz/about/advertising/drink-driving/legend.html
Wade, A. (2012, May 15). Teen drink-drive numbers falling - National - NZ Herald News. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=1080