In its first major brand campaign, Te Whānau O Waipareira celebrates Māori identity with a call for resilience and hope.
According to the organisation, the ‘Proud To Be Māori’ campaign reflects the optimistic, passionate and aspirational spirit that guides the West Auckland urban Māori support network.
Founded as an advocate for its people—those who came to the city seeking work—the organisation acts as a navigator to light the path for its community by supporting positive life changes for whānau.
Launching this week, Proud To Be Māori appears across TV and digital with an accompanying OOH portrait series featuring some of the notable faces from the extended Waipareira whānau.
The film itself addresses the hardships Māori face and continue to endure today through a candid lens, then flips the narrative to show how asking for support is not a sign of weakness, but rather the essence of collective strength and solidarity.
“Te Whānau O Waipareira work alongside urban Māori to create positive life outcomes,” Motion Sickness head of strategy Hilary Ngan Kee said. “Part of this is removing the whakamā (shame) of needing help.”
Within what Waipareira COO Awerangi Tamihere said is “a landscape of systemic racism and oppression”, she explains how they created the campaign to empower the urban Māori community.
“The continuous fight for equality that Māori have endured reflects the mamae that’s been impacting generations,” Tamihere said.
“We know the challenges that tomorrow will bring. But we want—as the waiata goes—our people to hold their heads up high and let our voices fly, I’m proud to be Māori.”
The scenes in the film are woven together with a rendition of the waiata ‘You’re Magic’ sung by former Te Whānau O Waipareira member and current Māori Party MP Rawiri Waititi.
Credits for the campaign are as follows:
Te Whānau o Waipareira team: Katene Durie-Doherty, Renee Solomon-Tauhinu, Fender Maeva, Richard Green.
Creative director/director: Sam Stuchbury
Producer: Joseph McAlpine
Associate creative director/photographer: Jordan Stent
Art director/strategist: Anna Maxwell
Creative: Will Macdonald
Creative assistant: Freddy Riddiford
DOP: Ziga Zupancic
1st AC: Alex Campbell
2nd AC: Cameron Bennett
Gaffer: Spencer Locke-Bonney
Best boy: Andrew Garfield
LX assistant: Julian Wagner
Sound recordist: Sofiane Tib
Hair and make-up: Guillermina Gentile
Editor: Jolin Lee
Colourist: Matic Prusnik
Sound post: BigPop Studios
