With the eyes of the sports-obsessed nation poised to watch the Holden State of Origin which kicks off tonight, the NRL have partnered with R/GA Sydney and AIRBAG to create this campaign to shine a light on mental health.

Says Ariel Martin, director, AIRBAG: “This subject matter has touched the lives of me and many of my friends. In fact, most of the crew who banded together to create this film have been affected by friends who have suffered with mental health. Tonally, we were going for a bit of an absurd vibe – we didn’t want the audience to be put off by something that felt too earnest, where they could feel the message coming. So visually, I was eager to make it feel as real as possible.”

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Says Craig Brooks, ECD, R/GA Sydney: “There’s a real hesitancy for Australians to take action when it comes to the mental health of their mates. Men especially aren’t comfortable approaching the topic or offering support. We wanted to make it clear that they can’t stay on the sidelines. If they see their mate struggling, they need to step in and help them out.”

Says Alex Tizzard, EP, AIRBAG Sydney: “I love Ariel’s vision in bringing this metaphor to life – what a game of footy looks like if we treated it like a conversation around mental health. It’s a sensitive yet visually arresting way to approach this subject matter we all need to be talking more about.”

This is Ariel Martin’s second campaign for R/GA Sydney and NRL this month. For work enquiries, contact alex@airbag.co or martin@airbag.co.