Nurture the future within and keep pregnancy alcohol-free, says Curative and Te Whatu Ora

Creative agency Curative has collaborated with Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora on a new nationwide campaign to keep pregnancy alcohol-free.

The purpose is to prevent the life-long impacts of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which is currently a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand.

Nurture the future within

By taking a multi-generational approach and encouraging New Zealanders to ‘nurture the future within’, the campaign raises awareness of FASD and educates around alcohol use during pregnancy. It highlights that we are all future ancestors, so we all have a role to play to support positive action in our whānau and hapori.

“There are complexities and sensitivities within the prevention of FASD and Māori are disproportionately represented in FASD statistics, but we know FASD is preventable,” says Eddy Royal, Managing Director of Curative. “Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand were clear that this messaging was for all whānau – we all need to work together to support pregnant people and their whānau to have healthy, alcohol-free pregnancies, underpinned by a commitment to reduce inequity in alcohol-related harm.”

Authentic co-design

The campaign was developed through an authentic co-design process. At the heart of the mahi was a collective of co-designers called Te Kapa Manawa.

“This rōpū lent their voices and experiences to this mahi, and through conversations with their own communities, brought such a richness to the kōrero” says Eddy.

“Coupled with clinical expertise and the advice and ideas from our whānau living with FASD, we gained so much clarity about what needs to be done now and into the future.” 

The campaign creative gives life to the idea that everything we do while pregnant has an effect through the generations.

“During the co-design process we were guided by the whakataukī, Poipoia te kakano, kia puawai – nurture the seed and it will bloom,” says Kaan Hiini, Design Director at Curative.

“A key idea emerged that the future already lies within all of us. So our hero spot takes us on an intimate journey with five generations of women who together tell the story of how a mother carries the seed of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and beyond.”

Collective responsibility

Created in collaboration with the team at Film Construction, the campaign creative features a rich, warm aesthetic inspired by the colours of te Taiao. Double exposure is utilised in the visual approach to the OOH images featuring each of the five wāhine, underscoring the central theme of ‘the future within’.

The campaign message is also supported by the taonga pūoro composition that accompanies the video, created by pūoro player Ruby Solly.

“The instrument Ruby is playing is the pūtorino, which is a unique pūoro shaped like the cocoon of the case moth – a home to protect its young” Kaan says. “Various taonga pūoro were played to support māmā during childbirth, so we knew we wanted to include this beautiful and ancient sound unique to Aotearoa in the campaign.”

Minimising the harm that alcohol causes is an important step towards growing a healthy and equitable society in Aotearoa, for current and future generations.

“‘Nurture the Future Within’ reminds us that the future is already within us,” Eddy says. “It’s our collective responsibility to protect it.”

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