Auckland Uni advises students to ‘chat the weird out’ to avoid awkward situations

Ogilvy and the University of Auckland are encouraging uni students to ‘Chat the Weird Out’ in awkward situations to help build healthier communication skills both on and off campus.

The animated campaign was developed for the Campus Life division of the university as part of a broader consent education initiative.

‘Chat the Weird Out’ uses awkward situations likely to create “crickets” in the room to remind students of the importance of addressing the “small weird before it gets really weird,” says Ogilvy NZ Senior Creatives Chelsea Sietses and Matt Woods.

“Ignoring an awkward situation is something we’re all guilty of—and for uni students it feels like the easy thing to do, but it just makes things super ambiguous. However, there’s one creature who always has something to say when things go quiet… the cricket. Voiced by comedian, James Mustapic, he’s our crickety interloper, helping address those little weird moments before they become big weird moments,” they add. 

Tee Bouttier-Esprit from Campus Life, says relationships are fraught with grey areas – situations or differences that are difficult to categories – these can often arise from a lack of communication which can make boundaries unclear.

“That can be because of a fear of confrontation or a lack of confidence to navigate a tricky conversation. That’s where a campaign like ‘Chat the Weird Out’ can be so powerful.”

UoA has deliberately left the ‘Chat the Weird Out’ campaign unbranded so it can be shared with other universities and councils around Aotearoa, with Massey University also now rolling it out across campus.

The strategy and creative for the campaign were developed by Ogilvy, with ‘Chat the Weird Out’ executions now live across social, street furniture and on-campus posters (UoA and Massey).

The post Auckland Uni advises students to ‘chat the weird out’ to avoid awkward situations appeared first on stoppress.co.nz.

stoppress.co.nz