Flag Referendum ad 3: Be A Part of History

Above is an ad from the NZ Flag Consideration Project, “Be A Part of History”. Like the Electoral Commission ad I posted earlier today, this ad tells us what we have to do, but it’s job, really, is to provide the why we should vote in the first referendum. I think it does a pretty good job.

The ad uses New Zealand scenery to “place” it, and the sweeping shot ends up flying up to and then over a hill where the five alternative designs are flying. The scenic visuals and melodic but non-descript music are typical of election advertising in New Zealand, so in that sense, it’s not very different.

But the point of the ad is in the voiceover. It correctly says, “for the first time in history, the people of New Zealand will decide the future of our flag,” which is no small thing: Every other flag has been decided by the leaders of the day and imposed on the people. All other issues aside, it’s pretty huge that New Zealanders get to decide what flag should represent them and their country.

The ad ends with, “What do we stand for, New Zealand?” which has been the tagline used by the Flag Consideration Project throughout the process. But it’s also a fair question: What DO we stand for? Which flag best represents that? As the voiceover says, we can help “determine how our country could be represented into the future, and out to the world.” This is a HUGE opportunity, and the core reason why we should vote.

This is the ad I mentioned when I shared the first Electoral Commission ad, which means that it was actually the second ad I saw on television. So far, I haven’t seen any ads specifically advocating any particular flag, but if I do, I’ll share them, too.