Monthly Archives: April, 2013

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The sacred sponsors
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Last week was an interesting one for Ben Uffindell, editor of The Civilian and recipient of a letter from Colin Craig’s lawyers demanding an obviously satirical quote relating to Maurice Williamson’s ‘big gay rainbows’ speech be removed. Much guffawing ensued at the expense of Craig, and, after a few interviews, The Civilian went back to publishing its Onion-esque news stories, including an ‘opinion piece’ by an All Black that brilliantly juxtaposes the the mana of the black jersey with the game’s increasingly commercial focus.

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EECA takes to the streets with eggs, milk and washing powder
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Outdoor is enjoying a bit of a resurgence at the moment, with an increase in revenue and creative campaigns like the MetService see-through billboard and Fly Buys’ ‘Little Bit Good’ using the medium to good effect and capturing a fair swag of attention, both in the real world and online. And now Ogilvy & Mather has come to the party with its campaign for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, which shows exactly how much consumers could save if they owned an appliance bearing the Energy Star mark.

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Fly Buys installation filled with 60,000 Jaffas for jafas
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We at StopPress are strong believers in the power of confectioneries as a marketing tool and it seems Fly Buys agrees with us. The loyalty rewards company has installed a giant vending machine in the Britomart Transportation Centre providing Auckland commuters with 60,000 Jaffas.

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Branded content, social media and the changing face of TV
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For years, pessimistic pundits have been talking about the death of TV. But TV viewership is still as strong as ever, and ad revenue is standing fairly firm. One thing that has definitely changed, however, is the integration of brands into programming and the ability of social media to light fires underneath content, as evidenced most recently by the launch of the X Factor NZ—and the way broadcasters are now working more closely with marketers and creative agencies to come up with original branded content ideas.

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Windows to Apple and Samsung obsessives: stop fighting, start switching
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The Great Phone Wars of the early Teenies have been escalating recently, with Apple fans regularly lining up for the latest toy (as comedian Tom Gleesson said at the Comedy Gala, Apple’s next move will probably be to release a product that doesn’t fit existing plugs so we’ll have to rewire our houses and we’ll still say ‘thanks Apple’) and Samsung making fun of their blinkered devotion in some of its ads. But in this new spot for the Nokia Lumia by Crispin, Porter + Bogusky and Roman Coppola, Windows thinks both of the obsessed, bickering factions should take a look at another option.

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The changing face of brands
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It’s always interesting to observe how brands have evolved over the years. As this infographic shows, companies like Canon and Mercedes-Benz have refined their iconic logos in fits and starts over the decades, but some are more or less unrecognisable alongside their original incarnations.

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From ads to entertainment: inside the new Oktobor
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Behind Nickelodeon cartoons such as The Penguins of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda: Legend of Awesomeness is a team of animators who just happen to be based out of New Zealand. We look inside Oktobor Animation (formerly Omnilab-owned visual effects house Oktobor) and talk to head of production Rob DiFiglia and managing director Bruce Everett about New Zealand’s blossoming digital creative scene.

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Meet Twitter’s new, more optimistic mascot
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Avid Twitter users will no doubt be familiar with the ‘Fail Whale’, a picture that regularly showed up when the service was over-capacity. That has become increasingly rare, however, and Yiying Lu, who designed the first image, has come up with a new one: the Success Loch Ness.

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New Zealand seventh on D&AD list, just four campaigns in line for Pencils
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D&AD is renowned as one of the world’s toughest awards shows (hence the brouhaha when Clemenger BBDO took a yellow pencil for Ghost Chips the same night it was denied at Axis). And while New Zealand has further cemented its reputation as a creativity hub and been ranked seventh in the world after the first round of judging, just four campaigns are in line to pick up yellow pencils: Silo Theatre Identity by Alt Group (Branding Schemes/Small Business), ‘Donation Glasses’ by Colenso BBDO for Mars NZ, Pedigree Adoption Drive (Direct Response/TV & Cinema Advertising); ‘Call Girl’ by DraftFCB for Prime Television (Radio Advertising over 30 seconds) and ‘Metamorphosis’ by String Theory for Good Books (Writing for Film Advertising).

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Tequila face! Beds! News reading! Rube! Push the button! Donate! Men! Cats! Yoga mat! Bands! Daft Punk! Karate chimp!
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Saving the world from bad tequila, one slow motion shot at a time; a life lived through beds; quite possibly the worst (but funniest) first day at work ever; show us your Rube; Playboy and the power of imagination; Salvation Army looks on the bright side of life; men have a problem; Cats. And exercise. At the same time; one smooth talking yoga mat; my favourite band is more fictional than your favourite band; the amazing acoustic version of Daft Punk’s new song; someone sign this chimp up for an ad; lest we forget (to try and cash in on Anzac Day); the world’s weirdest fliers; your mobile device is a prison; and nothing goes right when music goes wrong.

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Special Group grabs Red Bull by horns
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New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where Red Bull isn’t the number one energy drink, with Frucor’s V taking that honour. But it’s aiming to rectify that—and make more of its burgeoning content business—by appointing Special Group as its creative agency.

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Special Group walks the advertising talk once again after Media Awards win—UPDATED
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Not content with the attention it receives in the trade media after an award win, Special Group has made a habit of paying to get a bit more of it by placing full-page ads in the Herald, making it one of a rare few ad agencies that actually advertise. And it’s done some more showing off after winning Best in Show at the Media Awards alongside Naked/Open for Unitec’s ‘We make the people who make it’ campaign.

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