Monthly Archives: April, 2014

News
Smoke jokes
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There are plenty of rules around the advertising of cigarettes in New Zealand. And this one breaks them all. At least it would if it was a real ad and not a joke based on a fellatio pun.

News
Facebook’s Mark D’Arcy on Colenso’s double at the Studio Awards and why Kiwi agencies punch above their weight
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As in 2013, Facebook again only handed out two of its coveted Blue Awards at this year’s edition of the Studio Awards. The difference this year, however, was that one of the Blue Awards—the Facebook for Good award— was awarded to an agency for work done for a not-for-profit organisation. And the emergence of this change came with good news for Colenso BBDO/Proximity, as the agency won the first gong in the newly created category for the ‘Trial by Timeline’ campaign, which was executed for Amnesty International. PLUS: Facebook’s chief creative officer Mark D’Arcy chats to us about why Kiwi agencies are so good at advertising on digital platforms.

News
Creatives embracing cliches
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If you’re a fan of Women Laughing Alone with Salad, Completely Unusable Stock Photos and other pisstakes of generic stock imagery, then you’ll probably like this campaign from the Cannes Lions aimed at drawing attention to the upcoming festival, which hopes to get attendees to ‘fall in love again with what they do for a living’. And to do this, McCann London and photographer Max Oppenheim embraced stock photo cliches and shot various creative stars from around the world doing their best impression of over-excited, fist-pumping office workers.

News
Weet-bix gives one Kiwi lad a breakfast of champions
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There are plenty of shudder-inducing sponsorship campaigns, with brands often clutching at straws in an attempt to associate themselves with their chosen property. But a great stunt by Weet-bix gave us shudders of a positive kind by making the dreams of one rugby-mad Kiwi kid come true.

News
Bullies beware: nerds grow to become CEOs
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Argentina’s Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi—the agency that previously exposed us to untimely erections, miraculous hens and summer haters—has now turned its creative talents to fighting the scourge of bullying for VH1. In the new ad, which is carried by a reworked version of Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’, a series of kids cast in stereotypically nerdy roles are depicted enduring a range of punishments at the hands of bullies. And despite being tied to flag poles and having their heads stuck into toilet bowls, the nerdy kids are shown retaining a sense of pride, due to the knowledge that they will one day reign over the bullies on the corporate ladder.

News
How do you do?
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You might know comedian Gavin McInnes from his popular clip How to Fight a Baby, which offers some handy hints on protecting yourself against these dangerous tiny threats. Now he’s joined forces with Vans’ OffTheWall.TV and extended his range of subjects with the How to Do Everything in the World series.

News
Celebrating the Rainbow Nation with real rainbows
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To commemorate two decades of South African democracy, Coca Cola created a series of real rainbows, which arched over the billboards throughout the city. Conceptualised and executed by FCB South Africa, the colourful additions to the sky were produced using sunlight, water and “a bunch of fancy calculations”.

News
Have you seen this mouse?
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In New York rats and mice are a serious problem. It is thought that there could be as many as four for each New Yorker. That’s a lot vermin (roughly 32 million if you were wondering). d-CON, an American pest control company has taken to celebrating the little victories against our furry foes in their latest campaign via Havas Worldwide.

News
Scarily immersive
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Last year, Maritime New Zealand took the comical approach to inspire life jacket usage. But over in France, high-end marine clothing label Guy Cotten has taken the ‘let’s scare the crap out of them’ approach, with a first person online experience called ‘A Trip to the Sea’ that shows what it’s like to drown.
Last year, Maritime New Zealand took the comical approach to inspire life jacket usage. But over in France, high-end marine clothing label Guy Cotten and its agency CLM BBDO has taken the ‘let’s scare the crap out of them’ approach, with a first person online experience called ‘A Trip to the Sea’ that shows what it’s like to drown.

News
Getting to know you: fill in reader survey, win snazzy Storm watch
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As someone interested in the art/science of persuasion, we know you understand the importance of customer insight. And we want to get to know our readers a little better. So answer a few simple questions and you’ll go into the draw to win either a Storm Satellite Slate watch (valued at $375) or a Storm Kanti Black watch (valued at $325). The survey should take around two minutes and we promise not to hand over your details to shady criminal networks (unless they kidnap our children, and then we may be forced to reconsider).

Opinion
Millward Brown’s Nigel Hollis on how smart brands make more money
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Nigel Hollis, author, award-winning thinker and executive vice president and chief global analyst at Colmar Brunton’s global partner Millward Brown, brings 30 years of research experience to bear on his understanding of how marketing communications can build and maintain brands. He gave a presentation in New Zealand this morning on how smart brands make more money. And he answered a few of our curly ones.

News
Telecom’s Giganaires rap about living it up with uncapped broadband
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The telco that will soon be formerly known as Telecom has launched a new campaign to announce that it is now offering residential customers unlimited broadband data plans. And while this might seem like a smart move to separate its offering from its competitors and potentially attract new clients, the Saatchi & Saatchi-created ‘Giganaire’ TVC used to relay the message has divided public opinion, with some describing the spot as annoying, cringe-worthy and racist while others say it’s brilliant, hilarious and entertaining. Whether for good or bad reasons, the ad has gotten people talking and this has led to a YouTube clip of the TVC tallying up over 20,000 views (at the time of writing) since it was first launched.

News
Stolen Rum gets carried away
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From typically humble New Zealand beginnings, Stolen Rum has grown rapidly in recent years, with some experienced campaigners joining the team and some big distribution deals that have put its products on shelves outside the homeland. And, in keeping with some of its past marketing efforts, it recently ran a unique giveaway in Miami, Sydney and Dunedin.

News
Lotto Powerball shares celebratory high fives with Kiwi heroes
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In a continuation of its ‘High Five’ campaign launched last February, Lotto Powerball NZ is sending a bearded protagonist around the country to celebrate the successes of Kiwis. And while it might sound reminiscent of ASB’s ill-fated campaign starring Brian Blessed, Lotto’s effort, conceptualised by DDB, differs markedly from the approach used by the bank. Rather than dressing its protagonist in colonial clothing and placing him in the homes of Kiwi families, Lotto NZ is instead sending Craig, the likeable Kiwi Everyman figure from the ‘High Five’ Campaign, to engage with a range of Kiwi heroes.

News
Vodafone launches digital treasure hunt for release of Samsung Galaxy S5—UPDATED
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Earlier this month, Telecom opted for a sadistic promotional approach by forcing comedian Guy Williams to endure a range of painful experiences as part of its ‘Extreme Unboxing’ campaign for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S5. And while this certainly generated quite a few laughs and YouTube hits for Telecom, actor Cliff Curtis will no doubt feel relieved that FCB veered away from schadenfreude when developing a campaign dedicated to the technological device for Vodafone. Rather than harming anyone in the making of its campaign, Vodafone is instead offering to reward one lucky subscriber with $100,000 worth of gold. Updated with comments from a Vodafone spokesperson.

News
Big data and politics: OptimalBI campaign compares politicians’ tweeting performances
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Rather than simply contributing to the extensive canon of big data worship, Shane Gibson, the owner of data intelligence agency OptimalBI, has launched a topical campaign that aims to give a visual representation of the type of information that can be extracted from big data. Hosted on a specially dedicated microsite, the campaign will give a data-driven comparative analysis of key poltical figures in the lead-up to this year’s election.

News
Colenso BBDO and State Insurance aim to keep Kiwis safe with discount app
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Given that an insurance claim is equally undesirable for both the insurer and the insured, State Insurance has launched a new campaign that it hopes will ensure that Kiwi drivers don’t get to the stage where they have to deal with the unceremonious clang of metal colliding on the tarmac. The ‘motor services pack’ campaign, launched via Colenso BBDO on Easter Monday, gives State clients exclusive access to a range of deals at VTNZ, Z and Bridgestone via a specially designed app that can be downloaded from the insurance company’s website.

News
Visa PayWave in the skate bowl
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A new Australian ad conceptualised by Clemenger BBDO Sydney depicts skateboarders making Visa PayWave purchases while skating in the bowl. During the course of the 60-second TVC, various people (even a guy in a suit) are shown making payments, mid trick, for coffee, pizzas and tacos at an ad-hoc take-away store.

News
BuzzShift’s Cameron Gawley on hybrid agencies, digital snake oil and ceiling fans named after him
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Next week at the The Project: Digital Disruption conference being hosted by AUT on 30 April and 1 May, Cameron Gawley will appear as one of the international speakers at an event jam-packed with 30 of the sharpest minds in the industry. Gawley’s success has seen him ranked fifth on Business Insider’s list of the 25 most influential ad executives on Twitter, and he is also a founding member of the Social Media Club of Dallas and a Board Member for the American Advertising Federation of Dallas. On Tuesday, StopPress sat down with Gawley for a Skype conversation, which although distorted at times, gave us a glimpse at what to expect from the entrepreneur during his visit. PLUS: enter our competition and be in to win a ticket to The Project: Digital Disruption worth $599.

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