Judge's comments:

A powerful and uplifting experience. The beautiful cinematography captures authenticity and mana of it’s subjects in a way that still feels like crafted portraiture. The choice of ‘full gate’ or closer to square aspect ratio was also applauded as it revealed a larger image and less crop on face, helping to immerse the viewer even more.

Description:

Te Whānau o Waipareira serves as an advocate and a voice of empowerment; an organisation with a bold vision, lighting the path for their people, to support positive life changes for Urban Māori and their whānau. This vision is the driving force behind the ‘Proud to be Māori’ brand campaign.

Created in collaboration with the Waipareira whānau, ‘Proud to be Māori’ is a fearless call for Māori to reshape and regain control of their own narrative; their cultural identity, their tikanga, and their whakapapa. This campaign is underpinned by the tireless mahi that Te Whānau O Waipareira undertake for their community and acknowledges the challenges faced by Māori within a landscape of systemic racism and oppression.

With 23 million campaign impressions and thousands of organic shares on social media, hundreds of thousands in additional earned media, and tangible growth in enquiries for Waipareira’s services, ‘Proud to be Māori’ had an overwhelmingly positive response - reaffirming a sense of pride in local communities, and connecting individuals that rallied behind the kaupapa.

This campaign was led by a single, bold proposition; ‘Proud to be Māori’. Brought to life through an emotive and invigorating film piece, intimate vignettes were woven together with a collaborative script and a powerful rendition of Dave Para’s ‘You’re Magic. The hero video was then rolled out across TV and digital and was supported by an accompanying OOH portrait series featuring notable faces and stories from the extended Waipareira whānau.

Unapologetic, unwavering, and delivering a message of hope, resilience, and pride, ‘Proud to be Māori’ stands as an enduring body of work with deep cultural significance, and bears an everlasting relevance to the issues faced within Aotearoa.