switch to water – New Zealand dental association
Bringing authentic, aspirational storytelling to sports-celebrity-endorsement
The challenge was to deliver dental health messaging – while not sounding like “dental health messaging”.
With the popularity of energy drinks, especially amongst young males, tooth decay stories and statistics in Aotearoa are dire. Switch to Water is the annual campaign by New Zealand Dental Association that attempts to tackle this, by challenging people to ditch sugary drinks for a month and start a habit of drinking water.
The first Switch to Water campaign in 2019 featured NZ sports star Eliza McCartney incongruously pouring jugs of water in the middle of an athletics stadium, speaking a script full of scientific and dental-industry lingo to camera. When NZDA signed up Brooke Neal, former New Zealand Olympic Hockey star, as their spokeswoman for 2022, it was a clear opportunity to do more than rinse and repeat.
Brooke had already retired from even casual hockey playing, focusing on her wellbeing and motivation coaching career.
From a range of conceptual approaches presented, the simple activity of a bush walk next to a flowing stream was a clear winner. The location made for a persistent but uncontrived visual theme, with the bush-walking as an aspirational, yet accessible activity.
Brooke’s script was crafted to be colloquial and inviting, with a sense of personal storytelling, and include Te Reo Māori in a conversational, plausible way.
Despite a minimal budget, bringing cinematographer Nina Wells on board was a vital part of the production. Shooting handheld, literally wading in the river at times, Nina brought a stylistic and intimate feel.
Switch to Water 2022 went live with an 80-second full version and a 15-second cutdown, playing across YouTube and Facebook, supporting printed materials in schools and community locations, and sign-up packs.
Agency/Client ForPurpose / NZ Dental Association
Year 2022
Country Aotearoa New Zealand
My roles Concept / script / production / directing / editing / stills
DOP Nina Wells
Media Social / Website / print collateral
Annelise, NZDA Oral Health Promotion Manager
“The campaign went well, with over 18,000 sign ups and nearly 1 million people actively interacting with our adverts. Thank you so much for making such wonderful content”