The State of Victoria embarked on a path to creating a Treaty with Indigenous Victorians, but research suggested many Victorians felt they knew little about their Aboriginal heritage or Aboriginal affairs in general. And along with their lack of knowledge, they also didn't feel comfortable asking questions for fear of offending or appearing ignorant.

Deadly Questions provided a platform to get much needed answers and opened up a conversation between non-Aboriginal Victorians and the Victorian Aboriginal community at a pivotal moment in the State's history.

On the campaign website, visitors could ask any question, and Aboriginal Victorians would answer the question with text, audio, or video content. And, Deadly Questions Alexa Skill provided a voice-activated way for Victorians to engage in the discussion.

To the average person, ‘Deadly’ might sound dangerous or even ominous. But in Aboriginal circles, ‘Deadly’ translates to cool or awesome. This asymmetry was a poignant reflection of the asymmetry of perspective not uncommon in everyday Australia. 

The campaign challenged racist stereotypes and the responses weren’t always easy to hear. But beginning a dialogue between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Victorians was the start of a better future for all of Australia.

The campaign won a gold & silver at Spikes Asia, a silver at LIA, multiple bronzes at AWARD and the Caples, and an honourable mention at Aawwwards.com.

But most importantly the campaign was mentioned in the Ministers speech as the Treaty bill was successfully passed in parliament.

Client: Aboriginal Victoria, Department of Premier & Cabinet
Agency: Clemenger BBDO Melbourne