You mean the meerkats?? yeh, not a fan.

This is an extract from the latest press release.

"The message was inspired by meerkats and their ability to sense danger and protect one another. The new campaign will roll out over the next six months and is premised on the idea that like a meerkat we all have the instinct to sense danger."

Not a fan of the ad

I tend to look at whether WorkSafe publications would appeal to the people who work in the industries I have worked in.

I am a fan of the meerkats ad from the viewpoint of teamwork and workers being empowered to take action to speak up and prevent harm. I see it as a conversation starter.

But I thought the pickle game WorkSafe came out with recently is ridiculous and a complete dumbing down of hazard identification. The pickle game appears to be more suited to children than to adults.

Pickle games and now Meerkats ! - I genuinely feel for the WorkSafe frontline who are surely embarrassed by their management and whoever is advising them.

I really don't like the concept - with its potential to reinforce the negative stereotype that if someone gets hurt that they or their workmates failed to look out for them.
How much has WorkSafe NZ spent on these failed "viral" ad campaigns over the last few years (chasing the ghost chips)?

I thought that the Ghost chips add was NZTA, not Worksafe

I thought that the Ghost chips add was NZTA, not Worksafe — Don Ramsay

Yep, Ghost Chips was NZTA - I was meaning they seem to be chasing their own ghost chips moment.

"The message was inspired by meerkats and their ability to sense danger and protect one another. The new campaign will roll out over the next six months and is premised on the idea that like a meerkat we all have the instinct to sense danger."

Crikey, and I thought the results of the cannabis referendum hadn't been announced yet, much less that it passed and it was OK to use happy baccy, or are WorkSafe's creatives smoking something else

I am left wondering about Kylees intentions

.

I agree. We aren't the target audience. I think it has already worked in terms of getting people talking about it :)
If people don't agree with the message and have a conversation that's still a good thing isn't it?

I hate it! I absolutely cringed and hoped it wasn't going to be from Worksafe.

Same! Maybe the next ad is going to be about inappropriate relations in the workplace? :rofl:

The usual patronising dumbing down from H&S gurus to "the workers". Cringe!
Does NOBODY creating this nonsense do some research? On the audience?

Safety shouldn't just be sold by worksafe as reactionary with some divine intervention thrown in.
Where is the proactive safety planning and risk assessment messaging?

The ad sends all the wrong messages and will fail to prevent worker exposure to risk.

The ad seems to highlight everything that was wrong with the scenario - it would be good if they did a follow up to show what good work practice looks like.

And what was it with the guy and his clipboard???

I have to say that I liked the ad when it aired on TV, and seeing the comments I feel a little sorry for WorkSafe. It seems like they're damned if they do & damned if they don't.

As Health & Safety professionals we've all got our part to play in supporting our employers & colleagues. We're quick to complain about the campaign without offering solutions.

“It’s embedded in Kiwi culture to have one another’s backs and we wanted to reflect this in our campaign. We want to empower workplaces to address health and safety concerns and celebrate those in the workplace who sense it, and stop it.”
In the last five years, WorkSafe has recorded 363 workplace deaths and more than 120,000 workplace injuries resulting in a week away from work.Mr Parkes said as a regulator, WorkSafe would always have a role to play in workplace health and safety.
“But it is clear that we can’t do this alone. This mammoth task, of reducing our workplace harm needs to be shared by all New Zealanders. We all have a role to play.”

363 workplace deaths over 5 years averages out at 6 a month, and an average of 2000 workplace injuries requiring a week off work occurring on a weekly basis. Fair play to WorkSafe for trying something new, I'm supporting it and using it as an icebreaker conversation.

The message was totally lost on me I must admit, but it could be worse. I'm old enough to remember an OSH advertisement that featured a couple of ballroom dancers with a tagline that said something about taking safe steps...
Someone must have told their advertising gurus that people turn off as soon as you mention health and safety, so they make very sure that they don't.

I did cringe when I first saw the ad. But I watched it again, shared it with my team and I agree with @Stuart Oakey that this ad offers a different perspective and makes for a good icebreaker conversation. Some of my colleagues hate it. Some love it. But they're all talking about it and we all agree about the stupid clipboard!
Its been a great launchpad into other conversations because I see it as just that, a conversation starter.

On the other hand...that pickle game... what was that?

Before I discredit anyone’s creative juices I always recall the great piece of wisdom that goes a little something like this:

The next time you are afraid to share an idea just remember someone once sat in a meeting and said “Lets make a movie about a tornado full of sharks” That movie is now the highest grossing film franchise of all time worth $4.5 billion.

Moral of the story – you’ve got to try, so good on WorkSafe. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. Ghost Chips was a winner (fun fact: I named my first yacht Ghost Chips) and I hope they find their viral moment. I’d love nothing more than to see H&S memes plastered everywhere.

Here’s some food for thought thou. I hope that as an industry we don’t project this negative reaction to our people when they think of crazy, different, spontaneous, and slightly wacky ideas. That would be really disappointing.

Amy. While Sharknado is an excellent film (perhaps out done by Birdemic - and never to be out done by The Room) Marvel are the highest grossing franchise with around $18b, followed by Star Wars, Harry Potter, James Bond, Lord of the Rings etc.

At best they might be looking at $45m in gross revenues for whole franchise (these movies only have a production budget of $2 - $3m each).

Hey Michelle - I agree and have had the same debate with H&S Colleagues - who also hate the ad. I believe it's a starting discussion point, particularly with workers where visuals speak volumes more than the written word. The Vegetables thing was appalling and I'm not sure why they invested in that ....

The Meercat concept is cute, and I agree it is a good conversation starter.

It brought back memories of the Telecom NZ adverts from the 1990s when they used Meercats and other animals to promote themselves.

What sets the standard for safety is what anyone is prepared to walk passed and ignore, so the concept of looking out for each other is critical to the safety message. Meercats are excellent at this (and loveable as well!) - so a good concept. All I can say is that I would not dare show this advert to our truck drivers! *SIGH* I hope WorkSafe gives themselves a reality check before pushing the [Publish] button next time.

My wife (22 yrs in H&S) and I (38 yrs in H&S) saw the "meerkats" ad twice in one night. We both looked at each other and said, "What was that about?" Only the Worksafe name at the end of the ad got us thinking it must have been about H&S, but we didn't get the message. Then our discussion turned to the cost of running the ad. We agreed (she has insight into advertising costs on TV) that it would be a large 6 figure sum. If I didn't get the message there's precious little chance any of my clients would either. I think discussions will mainly centre on how obscure it is. That's a fail, I'm sorry, Worksafe.

Maybe these ads are not aimed at the likes of us already converted and grumpy lot :rofl: , lets leave the judging to the younger audience which these ads are attempting to influence and get talking about safe and healthy workspaces.
On a more serious note, the Meerkats link to safety is not all that new, a sister company where I once worked used them as an example of what an interdependent culture looks like to great effect.

My kids saw the ad and commented it was confusing and commented on the clipboard as a distraction from the main message