• by Antony Young , Op-Ed Contributor, 4 hours ago

When the $3 billion gambling industry spends millions blanketing a market like New Zealand with seductive messages, how do you cut through, with a fraction of the budget and a message that’s hard to hear? 'You look to strike up conversation at the dining table. 

The Media Lab, tasked with engaging the Asian Community with a destigmatization gambling harm campaign for Health NZ and Asian Family Services (AFS), knew it needed to go beyond a conventional media plan.

Gambling harm is epidemic among the Asian community in New Zealand. Compared with the national average, the risk of severe harm for Asians who gamble is 9.5 times higher. Yet cultural shame keeps the issue hidden, even from close family and friends, making recovery harder and isolation deeper.

The campaign’s creative platform, “They Bet on You Staying Silent,” calls out the gambling industry’s vast marketing machine that includes $100 million in above-the-line spend, plus apps, SMS, influencers, and TV sponsorships.

The campaign design by Vincent Lowe looks to flip the blame from the individual and shift it back on to the gambling industry, encouraging those affected to break their silence.

The Media Lab saw food as the cultural thread that could carry the message. “Across Asian communities, meals are more than sustenance, they’re social rituals, emotional anchors, and trusted spaces for storytelling,” Young explains. “In many ways, the dinner table is the original social media platform.” Whether it's Taiwanese dumplings, Thai Pad See Ew, or Kashmiri Rogan Josh, food serves as a powerful cultural and emotional touchpoint," Young adds.

The media strategy sees the campaign messaging woven into everyday food environments across our major cities. This included tailored placements across numerous Asian restaurants appearing in menus, walls, payment station cards, and doors. Campaign printed chopsticks are being distributed in Asian takeaways. Custom fortune cookies added with discreet gambling awareness messages.

The campaign is amplified through outdoor billboards in proximity to SkyCity and Christchurch Casino, as well as prominent locations featuring Asian eateries such as Dominion Road and Upper Queen Street in Auckland and Courtney Place and Tory Street in Wellington. The campaign is further supported across social media across WeChat, Meta, and LinkedIn.

“By placing our campaign in these everyday food settings the campaign aims to help normalize the conversation around gambling harm and break down stigma in a way that feels organic, respectful, and non-intrusive,” says The Media Lab’s planning director Gabrielle Wong. To give this campaign added visibility, The Media Lab and client pitched this campaign to both mainstream and Asian press that have got behind the campaign to support this program. 

Asian Family Services, which offers gambling harm support, have been inundated with calls and the agency has seen a significant increase in inquiries.  Kelly Feng, Asian Family Services’ Chief Executive, said: “Our message is clear: break the silence – no one should have to struggle alone or in silence,”  adding that “by raising awareness, we aim to break down these barriers and foster timely access to support.”