Western Cape Government ‘Safely Home’

Working with non-actors on deeply personal trauma requires knowing when not to push, when to let silence sit, and when to protect the people in front of the camera from being asked to carry more than they already have. That sensitivity runs through every decision in the campaign. ‘Safely Home’ is also a substantial body of work. Apart from the hero TVC, Rob and the team rolled out more than 50 film assets, designed for cinema, social, and online cutdowns.

“As an agency, our mission was to drive real behaviour change, by creating work that truly connects to culture. Not just in the idea, but the language too”, says Pete Case, Ogilvy Cape Town’s Creative CEO and Creative Chairman.

“The term ‘Jou ma se kind’ is widely recognised across the Western Cape and is entrenched in our province’s lexicon. Our campaign spoke to the extremely sensitive issue of the alarmingly high number of mothers across the Western Cape who lose their children to road fatalities over the festive period each year, and so we aimed for a high level of authenticity in the expression of our idea, in order to capture the engagement of our target audience. The campaign hinged on finding real moms, with real stories and channeling those stories into communication that’s both impactful and that prompts real societal change.

Rob’s remarkable understanding of the market, his keen eye for authenticity and his will to scratch beneath the surface to capture the sincere, is what helped us create such a powerful, meaningful piece of work. We’re incredibly proud of this work and grateful for the generosity of our partners on this project.”

The main commercial opens in a place that feels familiar. Friends messing around, full of that reckless confidence that comes with believing nothing bad will happen to you. It’s a deliberate misdirection. ‘With this kind of work you need to start somewhere recognisable, somewhere light, so people don’t switch off before the message arrives’, says Rob.

Charlotte

Patricia

Namhla

The mothers we meet are real. With the help and guidance of Amin Gray from Deep Blue Casting, the mothers came forward through community networks, rather than auditions, willing to speak about children they had lost. Many had never spoken publicly before and some had barely spoken about it at all. “When you’re dealing with people who’ve lived through something like this, your job isn’t to extract emotion,” says Rob. “It’s to create a space where they feel safe enough to share what they want to share.”

Madeleine

Nicola

Sonia

Visually, the performance element of the TVC mirrors that same restraint. Shot over a single night in Woodstock, alongside DOP Fabian Vettiger, the production relied on real locations, natural street lighting, and tightly planned camera movement. While the work feels understated on screen, it’s underpinned by significant technical control. Rob worked closely with Big Bird, the drone and motion vehicle company he co-founded, using a rigged vehicle setup that allowed performances to remain authentic while keeping the shoot tightly contained.

Rob’s hands-on approach extended into post-production too. Rob edited the full suite of assets himself, shaping not just the hero film but the rhythm and tone of the campaign as a whole. With more than 50 pieces rolling out across platforms. Faints!

Safely Home avoids shock, placing its trust in a director capable of handling the responsibility that comes with stories like this. We’re looking forward to seeing more big storytelling from Rob.

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