M&C Saatchi has taken recycling up a notch, hiring former Clemenger BBDO group account director Jonathan Hales as its Wellington-based business director. Hales was recently laid off after 13 years at Clemenger, where he set up its design agency, Clemenger Design, and led accounts such as ACC, New Zealand Post and the Rugby World Cup 2011.
Digital communications agency Jericho doubles in size, hires two newbies and turns a corner, Richard Buddle buddies up with Aprais, JML strengthens its arsenal by hiring a number of double-barrelled guns, and technology company Optimizer HQ makes a strategic acquisition that would make Optimus Prime proud.
Following in the footsteps of Facebook Deals, Groupon Now and other large deal-providers offering location-specific discounts in real-time, GrabOne has launched its version in New Zealand, Instant. And, on the same day, Flossie.com has also relaunched itself as “a quiet-time appointment channel for the hair and beauty industry” in an effort to tap into the burgeoning deal-hunting consumer movement.
We’ve seen plenty of manvertising in recent times, with the likes of Mammoth, Lion Red, Speight’s Summit and NZTA all taking the over-the-top masculine approach to appeal to the guys (and, often, the girls). Obviously, the next logical step in this creative evolution was manchildvertising, so, to launch Arnott’s Shapes Roadies in the New Zealand market, Y&R Auckland and Finch director Alex Roberts constructed an oversized carseat, embraced the green screen and filmed “three manchildren on a roadtrip behaving like manchildren on a roadtrip” as part of its rather absurd but quite funny ‘Feed the Manchild’ campaign.
The booze laws are in for a bit of a tune-up this year, with a yet-to-be-announced, Government appointed panel set to bang heads over things like the role of alcohol sponsorship, price controls and industry self-regulation of advertising. Of all the beer brands, Tui is probably the one most often singled out for pushing the envelope, both for its controversial, long-running, PC-busting billboards and for supposedly using sex to sell beer with the Tui brewery girls. But the numerous complainers haven’t stopped it from continuing to use cheekiness and humour in its ads and, carrying on the popular tradition of using brewery raids, elaborate disguises and gnomes—Saatchi & Saatchi and The Sweet Shop have launched another entertaining brand ad for Tui Blond lager.
Amanda Stevenson
From the Police to marketing then consulting, Amanda Stevenson had multi-career success – a few years ago, she’d done it all, except graduate from university. But now the 51-year-old manager has realised her goal, completing the University of Auckland’s post-graduate diploma in business studies in 2010. She says it’s given her confidence and broadened her thinking.
Last year New Zealanders spent more time than ever watching television. While the average person’s viewing time of three hours and 22 minutes per day remained unchanged from 2010, more people tuned in each day, resulting in growth of total hours viewed up two percent.
The high-quality animation makes this latest Red Bull cinema commercial really stand out. So much so, we’re declaring it this week’s TVC of the week.
Credits: The ad was placed in NZ by Lassoo; but the agency and film company are not known.
Slim pickings today, in terms of industry comings and goings. Fortunately, hot on the heels of a news portal overhaul and freshly minted partnership with news agency AAP, online media company MSN New Zealand have kicked off the year with three new appointments.
Collaborations between musicians and artists have brought us some of the most memorable pop culture images of the last 50 years. Think iconic images such as the Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen, or The Velvet Underground and Andy Warholʼs famous collaboration. And now Beck’s is hoping for similar success tomorrow when it launches a new series of limited edition labels designed with the help of local talent.
Tourism Australia has released a list of 100 ‘must-do’ activities to mark Australia Day in New Zealand, in a bid to get Kiwis enthused about crossing the Tasman on their next holiday.
As Brancott Estate rolls out a contemporary new look across its entire wine range, it’s also releasing a new app bringing together the worlds of wine and entertainment via QR code.
Liquidators for failed advertising agency The Media Counsel are briefing the Serious Fraud Office and the Companies Office on the company’s affairs, after unsecured creditors were informed they are unlikely to receive any money they are owed.
The holy grail of accounts is up for pitch. With an estimated budget of about $1 million, the Government’s two major public information programmes are again up for grabs; but this time, the current Electricity Authority’s agency, DraftFCB, will be leading on the creative side of one of the programmes, as well as pitching for the account.
Colenso BBDO is licking its collective lips after snaffling up DDB’s hot young creative team James Connor and Christie Cooper in the latest round of agency swapsies. Connor, who has been at DDB for five years, and Cooper for nine, took out a bronze Young Guns Award for DDB three years ago for their out of home Fruit Burst campaign, and also worked on campaigns for Cadbury, Sky, Pascalls, and Pink Batts.
Voting is now open for the January/February edition of The Glossies. See this month’s entries below and cast a vote for your favourite. And remember, there’s just one vote per computer.
Lucky seven, God’s in heaven, one little crutch, a David Beckham, one hockey stick, a slice of heaven. There, 7 ways to say seven, with out mentioning dwarves once. Why? Well seven’s obviously the lucky number for Spark PR & Activate, as they start the New Year with a seventh brand new client, Weight Watchers NZ. The win tops off a hugely successful 2011 for the Auckland-based agency. In recent months, Spark PR & Activate has also been appointed as PR agency for Electrolux Cookware and Laundry, Dermalogica NZ, boutique stationery store Red Letter Day and Mambo apparel.
One of the few positive aspects of the Christchurch earthquakes is that those from the region seem to have banded together in an effort to try and get their city back on its feet. And Phantom Billstickers, which started in Christchurch in 1982, is doing its bit by offering existing businesses that are moving to new premises, new start-ups, bands, arts groups, or “anyone with something to say” a leg up. Phantom’s Robin McDonnell says there are no complicated conditions. It’s just their way of helping. So Christchurch folks just need to bring in 100 A3 posters to the Sydenham office and they’ll stick ‘em up on their high profile sites around the city.
Design and communications agency The Church has created a new direction for the New Zealand International Arts Festival. Targeted at first time festival goers the concept is about adding an ‘extraordinary’ experience to your every day life – be it catching a bus, or walking to work. Creative director Chris Waind says the opportunity to work on such an iconic event was too good to miss. “We’ve been able to bring all our experience with the NZSO and our creative conference We Can Create to bear and that’s injected the energy and effectiveness we think the brand needed”.
Advertising is a very competitive business. Accounts are coveted, staff are constantly being poached and awards are hotly contested. And it seems that competitive streak also applies to extra-curricular activities, as evidenced by events that took place at the Colenso towers this week.
Judging by this expensive-looking new epic for the launch of the Subaru XV, the Australian arm of the business isn’t afraid to spend money on big ads. And while it’s fair to assume New Zealand doesn’t have access to those sort of budgets, it does have Barnes, Catmur & Friends on its side, and, just like its contextual number celebrating the Great Auckland Snow last year, this smart print ad showcasing the reversing cameras that now come as standard in the Legacy and Outback models also hits the spot.
Lemonade Design is by no means a newbie to the design game with several prominent clients including Eden Park, Jucy Rentals and Burger Fuel on the roster. And now the agency has turned its hand to new premium ice cream brand Holy Moly.
In defiance of the threat posed by digital to television, MediaWorks is taking a huge risk and premiering one of its top new shows online. As crazy and contradictory as this approach seems, when FOX did the same thing last year, it got some surprising results: despite over two million people watching the show before it was broadcast, it rated through the roof on the night, up 20 percent from its lead-in show Glee, way beyond the network’s wildest dreams.
Turns out old French farmers are actually quite technologically advanced.
The world’s newest extreme sport.
Perhaps not the best time to be advertising filthy richness. But not a bad way to do it.
Fun with old (and new) Subarus. …
Mobile devices are basically seen as a necessity these days and, like a dog without its bone, there’s almost nothing more depressing than seeing a modern human try to function without its phone. For marketers, these devices offer some very exciting creative possibilities, and MediaWorks has jumped on the ‘social TV’ bandwagon and released what it believes is a world-first smartphone app called Pluk that uses audio recognition technology to deliver content from the TV straight to the user’s phone.
After a bit of a wait, Clemenger BBDO managed to find a replacement managing director when Andrew Holt shifted south from Colenso in late 2010. And it’s also been on the hunt for a new creative director ever since Paul Nagy left in mid 2010. Good things take time, of course, and it’s now filled the position after executive creative director Philip Andrew, who has overseen some pretty bloody good work since taking responsibility for the empty chairs, announced the internal promotion of Brigid Alkema.
It’s not just Whitcoulls, with its very public financial struggle and consequent sale in mid-last year, that is being affected by the slow sales of books in New Zealand. With literacy levels dropping year on year, the lack of trading is also keeping our country’s authors downtrodden and many of our stories untold. But the New Zealand Book Council, just like other separate entities like NZ Book Month, which won the not-for-profit gong at the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards last year for trying to put a book in the hands of every Kiwi, is out to change this. And it’s latest ad, which was made by Colenso BBDO and follows up from the haunting and very well-awarded Going West with some more engaging paper artistry, aims to show the printed word can shape and inspire.
For the first time, CAANZ is publicly calling for top media minds to help decide the illustrious 2012 Media Awards winners. Those keen on judging the awards can apply now, or nominate someone else they think perfect for a judging role. Rather than casting aspersions on any previous judges, this new process adds a touch more gravitas to the proceedings, and should ensure only the most knowledgeable and experienced people are representing the industry – leading to greater consistency across categories.
If you believe the digital doomsayers, free-to-air TV is currently experiencing death by a thousand cuts. But in New Zealand, it seems as though TV is slowly clawing its way back to the good old days after data released by industry body ThinkTV showed a two percent or $11 million rise in total ad revenue to $618 million for 2011, up from $607 million in 2010 and $569 million in 2009.
After a few years of quiet on the Y&R NZ front, it’s been pretty much all good news recently, with a host of new accounts locked in and some big creative hires to brag about. And it’s continued down that positive track by naming Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington’s associate creative director Scott Henderson as its creative director in Wellington.