Tough Enough?

AUCKLAND, Today: Following the success of several high-profile campaigns – including A Moment Against Silence and The Mensus – dentsu and Movember have created a campaign they say “challenges the very fabric of what it means to be a Kiwi man”.

dentsu strategy director Ryan Jordan said: “The multi-dimensional campaign launched earlier this month with a Kiwi-made, two-part documentary series called Man Enough, which aired on TVNZ One and is available to stream OnDemand.”

“Hosted by Celebrity Treasure Island host, Matt Chisholm, the series opens up the conversation around male suicide and challenges our ideas about what it means to be a modern man. Matt visits rugby clubs, construction sites, boardrooms, men’s barbershops, and boxing gyms, asking whether men can be ‘Man Enough’ to open up.

“The documentary concludes with a challenge to the nation, to redefine what it means to be a modern Kiwi man, and concludes that men need to feel more comfortable and confident to talk about their emotions.

“At the end of the second episode, an ad by the same name is aired to kick off this year’s awareness campaign for Movember.

“The core insight behind the campaign is based on the idea that men aren’t engaging with mental health because it is not seen as masculine. However, the reality is, it’s one of the toughest, most courageous things a man can do.”

“The core insight is based on the idea that men aren’t engaging with mental health because it is not seen as masculine.”

The 60 second ad is fronted by ex-Māori All Black, Slade McFarland, who also appears in the documentary in his role with MATES, a suicide prevention programme in the construction industry.

Using all the tropes of stereotypical masculinity, Slade calls out New Zealand’s ‘tough guys’, challenging them to reconsider just how tough they are. Along with his hypeman, Slade encourages men to connect with their own mental health struggles, or somebody else’s, and positions this as the epitome of masculinity today.

Brad Stratton, associate CD at BC&F dentsu, said: “As we start to redefine what it means to be a man, we have an opportunity to question someone’s manhood with a new set of rules. Given Slade’s stereotypical masculine look, and the great work he does in the community, he was the perfect bloke for the job.

“The campaign’s challenge is amplified by a series of outdoor and digital ads which feature provocative messages.”

Movember NZ manager Rob Dunne said: “Man Enough is more than a two-part TV show, it’s a unique opportunity for men’s mental health. By using the programme as an intervention that explores the relationship between masculinity and suicide, we hope that it can help drive positive behaviour change.

“The degree of behaviour change is being professionally evaluated so that we can truly gauge the effect of the use of TV programme content, versus more traditional methods.”

CREDITS

Strategy: dentsu
Creative: BC&F dentsu
PR: MKTG
Media: Carat
Documentary Production: Gibson Group
Advertising Production: dentsu Prod
Director: Lee Stapleton