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The Warne Identity: DDB NZ gets self-reflexive for massive new McD’s campaign

It’s been a big year for DDB New Zealand. And it’s finishing on a high note with the launch of a massive new McDonald’s retail campaign in Australia and New Zealand that features (well, kind of) Shane Warne.

The crux of the campaign is that McDonald’s new limited edition chicken range is ‘so tasty it sells itself’, which means there’s no real need for a spokesman. Obviously, this is a shame for their spokesman, Shane Warne, or Wayne Bourne, or whoever the hell he is, because he’s constantly being removed overshadowed by the product.

DDB NZ’s managing director Justin Mowday says the DDB offices in Auckland and Sydney both share the creative workload on McDonald’s briefs, with Aussie campaigns often running over here and New Zealand campaigns occasionally running over there.

“When a large, significant brief comes in, the best idea rises to the top,” he says.

McDonald’s had already signed Warne up as a spokesman before the agencies were briefed (and he has no idea how much they paid for the privilege). They were tasked with finding the best, most interesting way to use him. Or, not to use him, as the case may be.

Mowday says it’s a significant product for Macca’s, so they’re going all out, with collateral across a variety of platforms (the online execution where you can remove him from the ad is a gem). It’s a massive campaign for the agency, too, and he says a big team worked on it, creating “everything from the top to the bottom, right down to the tray mats”, as the video shows.

Youtube Video

Mowday believes it’s also quite a brave campaign, both because of the self-reflexive treatment it has been given and because of the choice of celebrity. As he says, Warne is basically the Tiger Woods of cricket and part of his large appeal has come about as a result of some less than classy behaviour. But he says McDonald’s would have weighed those risks up before they secured his services (Mowday wouldn’t comment on the fact that Warne appears to have secured the services of Liz Hurley and says it hasn’t affected the campaign).

While it’s brave for McDonald’s, Mowday says it was also quite risky for Warne, who needed to fully embrace the self-deprecating tone for the campaign to work.

“He was a great sport and good fun. This category is so competitive and there’s so much activity, so getting cut-through is paramount,” he says.

Credits:

DDB NEW ZEALAND:

Group Executive Creative Director : Toby Talbot

Creatives: Jonathan McMahon, Lisa Fedyszyn, Paul Kim, Steve Hansen

Head of Art: Dave Brady

Digital Creative: Ben Barnes

Group Business Director:  Zoe Alden

Business Director:  Susie Darling

Senior Business Manager:  Kate Eveleigh

McDONALD’S:

VP/Director of Marketing : Madeleine Fitzpatrick

National Marketing Manager : Nicki Lambert

Brand Manager : Nathan James

Assistant Brand Manager : Paba Wijayaratne

National Marketing Manager (NZ) : Nikki Jeffcote

PRODUCTION:

PRODUCER: Pip Mayne

PRODUCTION CO: The Sweet Shop NZ

DIRECTOR: Mark Lever

PRODUCER: Lynnette Gordon

DOP: Danny Pope

EDITOR: Michael Lonsdale

ART DIRECTOR: Sal Boucher

FOOD SHOOTING:

PRODUCTION CO: Carnival Films

DIRECTOR/DOP: Viv Scanu

PRODUCER: Ben Flaxman

SOUND

PRODUCTION CO: Liquid

COMPOSER: Peter Van Der Fluit

Post Production & City: FSM, Sydney

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