Survivor 2017

Warning: Epic Campaign
TVNZ 2’s biggest reality show of 2017 – Survivor NZ, needed a blockbuster campaign to get New Zealand excited about the very first NZ Survivor. Being a 20-year-old format we needed to come up with a fresh contemporary campaign that brought new life into the format.

ECD, Jen Hertzum
Design Director, Jacob Slack
Designers, Roseanne Lee, Jeff Lau, Janelle Mais, Nick Delaney, Aaron Clarke, Will Little John
Production Manager, Vicki Keogh

The campaign had several layers to it, but all connected back into one central idea of ‘warnings’. The first was a destination commercial for the ‘Beautiful Nicaragua’, finished off with a warning that only one person would survive. This was accompanied by another set of advertisements focusing on the creatures and dangers that could be found in Nicaragua. We even put up a billboard in Nicaragua, warning them that the kiwis were coming.

The next phase to the campaign was reveal the talent, we did this with arresting key art of each contestant in full survivor mode with their eyes redacted with a warning summing up their character. We also connected artwork with the environments they were placed in. For example, in the train station the warning was that the contestant ‘could go off the rails’.

Lastly, we built a Survivor HQ. A movable shipping container decked out with all the survivor trappings and games. From here we shot after show commentary shows, had contestant interviews and open days where the public could see some of the creatures from Nicaragua, play some of the survivor games and taste a bbqed bug or two.

The Team

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