It’s the last day of StopPress for 2015 before we switch into robo-media summer posting mode and because there just aren’t enough Year in Review articles being published at the moment—and in keeping with our annual tradition—we’re going to blast you with a few to kick things off. First up, Saatchi & Saatchi dual executive creative directors Gus Roberts and Corey Chalmers.
Corey Chalmers recently attended a Creative Leaders’ Retreat run by the One Club. And he quickly learned that there’s no quick fix to future-proofing creative businesses.
Earlier this year, Toyota and Saatchi & Saatchi enlisted the services of comedian Dai Henwood to star in an entertaining campaign for its Genuine Parts business that played on the Japanese brand’s high levels of trust—and on the fear we all have of being ripped off by automotive cowboys. In the clips, Henwood did an Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence and played a dodgy-yet-loaded business owner Frank, a boganic secretary Sherl and a salty tow truck driver Trev. And now he’s back for another round where he again shows his acting versatility by adding an uptight businessman, a disinterested student and even a mum and her beautiful baby to his repertoire.
The best art is often laced with subversion and provocation. And the same rules often apply to the best advertising. Now those two things have been combined with Saatchi & Saatchi’s campaign to promote the recently re-opened Govett-Brewster art gallery in New Plymouth.
Festive changes at Saatchi & Saatchi, TVNZ, Choice TV, Qrious, Orangebox, MediaWorks and Robber’s Dog.
It’s fair to say the last major campaign launched by ASB didn’t go as well as planned, with the shouty, bearded frontman Brian Blessed being sent back to Blighty a bit earlier than expected. The bank’s Succeed On tagline remained, however, and, after being in a bit of a holding pattern as far as its comms were concerned, ASB has now returned with a new campaign via Saatchi & Saatchi that aims to show how New Zealanders really talk about money—and the ASB products and services that might be able to help them deal with it.
As part of our series dedicated to celebrating good work and inspiring a bit more generosity, Corey Chalmers, Saatchi & Saatchi’s recently appointed co-executive creative director, big ups the marketing campaign behind What We Do in the Shadows.
Since Antonio Navas first arrived in New Zealand in 2011, there have been murmurings about his impending departure. “I heard that Antonio is leaving” almost became as common a phrase as “integrated cross-channel marketing initiative” in conversations between those in the industry (they had to get it right eventually). And despite this speculation, Navas just shrugged it off and focused on what he came here to do in the first place: create ads that get noticed. Here are a few thoughts from Navas on his time in New Zealand.
In a release sent out earlier this afternoon, Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand’s chief executive Nicky Bell announced that executive creative director Antonio Navas would be returning to the States, bringing an end to a stint that started in June 2011. Taking the Venezuelan-born creative’s place are Corey Chalmers and Guy Roberts, who will be promoted to the positions of joint executive creative directors, effective 1 September.
Saatchi & Saatchi has been steadily regaining its confidence under Nicky Bell, Antonio Navas and Murray Streets. And while Brian Blessed was quietly put out to pasture and its Telecom business continues to be chipped away, it did catch plenty of eyeballs with Tui’s Beer plumber stunt and took out our TVC of the Year for Toyota’s ‘Feels Good Inside’. Plus, as Colenso BBDO’s Axis love letter shows, taxi drivers still think the agency is synonymous with advertising. Creative directors Guy Roberts and Corey Chalmers spill their beans all over 2013.
2011 wasn’t a particularly memorable year for Saatchi & Saatchi, with the pink fist debacle casting a major pall. But the new executive and creative team has shaken things up and, after winning ASB without a pitch earlier this year and releasing some of the best work of 2012, the confidence—and the quality—appears to have returned. Creative directors Corey Chalmers and Gus Roberts speak up.
It’s been a rough ride, and with the whiff of restructure in the air, there will undoubtedly be a bit more roughness to come. But Telecom has steadied the ship in 2012 and, with Jason Paris at the helm and a resurgent Saatchi & Saatchi helping to create one of the best campaigns of the year, it is starting to get back on the goodfoot from a brand and storytelling point of view. Head of brand and insights Charlotte Findlay takes the stage.
According to a recent Commerce Commission report into the telco industry, the number of broadband connections in New Zealand has more than doubled in the past five years and Telecom has around half of the total residential ISP market. But it’s aiming to increase that, sweeten the deal its for existing customers and get more people streaming by doubling the amount of data for all Total Home broadband packages for no extra charge. And, as the new ‘Why Not?’ campaign from Saatchi & Saatchi shows, that means you can download and share to your heart’s content.
This month’s stand-out newspaper ad was Tui Brewery’s ‘Valentine’s Day’ ad from Saatchi & Saatchi. The judges agreed that it showed “great use of the medium and was interactive” and that it “spoke nicely to the immediacy of newspapers”.
There were a few raised eyebrows in the industry when Corey Chalmers and Guy Roberts followed the ASB business from TBWA\ to Droga5. Now, after 18 months with the agency, the pair have upped sticks again to fill the role of creative directors at Saatchi & Saatchi NZ, while Droga5 has named Anomaly London’s executive creative director Nathan Cooper as a replacement.
The old theatre line “if it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage” rings true whether it’s David Mamet’s latest taut masterpiece, or Tracy the acccount manager’s brief for new improved Wheaty Bites. But take a look at the majority of ads around you. Any memorable lines? Resonant insights? Emotional journeys? The results suggest all is not well in creative brief world.