Income protection cover is not sexy. But a heist story is, and Special New Zealand’s heist story for Partners Life is also quirky, funny, sad…and pointed. The campaign highlights the importance of living life with a plan b in place.
Being unable to work due to illness or injury is not a position many people picture themselves in, yet 170,000 people stopped working due to injury or illness in the year ending June 2020 – approximately 6% of the total employed population in New Zealand.
Mika Ballantyne, marketing communications manager at Partners Life, commented, “As a nation we are underinsured. Many New Zealanders go through life hoping for the best, but what’s really best is having a plan b. Income insurance provides you with financial support if you are unable to work due to injury or illness, so you don’t find yourself in the position of the poor (once rich) man in this campaign.”
The hero commercial and its after-story addition were directed by Division director, Sanjay De Silva. Better known for a vibrant visual style, De Silva shows off what he can do with a darker tone. The film is meticulously detailed with its heist-genre clichés such as the neo-noir lighting and tense pulsing soundtrack that heighten the rug-pull in the script.
The full campaign includes the hero film, extension film, OOH and radio pointing out the lifestyle changes necessary if you don’t have income protection insurance as your plan b. The campaign fits into the brand’s Get Life Right platform also developed by Special NZ.
Steve Hansen, creative director, Special, commented, “We wanted to plant the seed of income protection by flipping a familiar genre in a way our audience wouldn’t see coming. A bit like illness or injury.”
Credits:
Client: Partners Life
Chief Commercial Officer: Kris Ballantyne
General Manager Marketing: Tina Morgan
Marketing Communications Manager: Mika Ballantyne
Senior Marketing Specialist: Anna Bycroft
Agency: Special
CEO & Creative Chairman: Tony Bradbourne
Chief Creative Officers: Lisa Fedyszyn & Jonathan McMahon
Creative Director: Steve Hansen
Group Creative Director: Matt Simpkins
Integrated Producer: Nicole Scopes
Chief Strategy Officer: Rory Gallery
Group Strategy Director: Jolene D’Souza
Head of Business Management: Callum Walker
Group Business Director: Emma Richardson
Business Director: Ravina Raju
Editor: Hamish Kuka
Studio Manager: Gavin Le Claire
Senior Production Designer: Chad Kukahiko
Studio Artwork: Julius Bellett
Production Company: DIVISION
Director: Sanjay De Silva
Managing Director & Executive Producer: Genevieve Triquet
Producer: Christiana Roberts
DOP: Max Walter
Production Designer: Imo Walsh
Editing: The Editors
Post-Producer: Maxine Zanoni
Offline Editor: Leila Gaabi
Casting Directors: Nick Hamon Casting & Citizen Jane Casting
Online: White Chocolate
Colourist: Ben Eagleton
Sound: Liquid Studios
Composer: Danny Cardozo
