News
The meat and bones of insurance
Carnivore Club, an artisan meat club thay delivers monthly to its members, has launched a hilarious new advertising campaign under the guise of a fake insurance company called ‘F-up insurance’.
Monthly Archives: February, 2015
News
#MakeItHatey
Coca-Cola has been forced to suspend its #MakeItHappy campaign after an elaborate prank from blog site Gawker had the brand relaying several lines from Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
News
New Shine radio campaign puts spotlight on sport-related domestic violence
Charity organisation Shine is raising awareness of domestic abuse after sporting matches with the launch ‘No Excuses,’ a hard-hitting radio campaign by creative agency Whybin/TBWA that features high profile rugby commentators Tony ‘TJ’ Johnson and Scott ‘Sumo’ Stevenson in three different radio clips.
News
Do your thing awkward
According to TVNZ’s Lyndsey Francis, Tech in a Sec is the only piece of communication that crossed over from the Telecom rebrand into Spark. And, as evidence of its popularity, it’s into year three and has added a few new mascots. Vodafone also wants to help customers ‘Do their thing better’ so it has released a clip online promoting a digital activation that lets users pick their top three interests from the Top 30 Things Kiwis most love to do and then delivers a selection of the best smartphone apps and online articles. But it’s not of the quality you’d expect from one of the world’s biggest telcos.
News
Mmmm, fryders
Redditors are renowned for their unique sense of humour/aggressive trolling. And, following on from some interesting discussion about the legality of gardens in New Zealand recently, now the world is learning some interesting facts about New Zealand’s penchant for arachnid cuisine.
News
ANZ brings its award-winning GAYTMs to New Zealand—UPDATED
As mentioned last week, ANZ decided to embrace the rainbow by bringing GAYTMs to New Zealand. And, as of today, they’re out and proud in Auckland and Wellington.
News
Bhuja boys Leigh Hart and Jason Hoyte given daily slot on Hauraki
The Alternative Commentary Collective (ACC) has since its inception in 2012 become a standard part of the Kiwi cricket experience for many fans, who tune in to enjoy a comedic twist on the usual ball-by-ball rundown of the games. Following on from the success of the iHeartRadio-hosted show, frequent contributors Leigh Hart and Jason Hoyte in March 2014 launched Sports Bhuja, a sports-related chat, comedy and music show, which initially aired on radio Hauraki on Saturday mornings—and the segment has proven so popular, that the pair have now been given a slot on Radio Hauraki’s drive time show.
News
Jockey showcases stripped down All Blacks in full colour
Jockey is continuing its long tradition of stripping the All Blacks down to their tighty whiteys with its latest winter All Colour campaign. But this year it’s all about the bright colours.
Movings & Shakings
Saatchi & Saatchi responds to decreasing client spend and changing market with restructure—UPDATED
Over the past five years, chief executive Nicky Bell, the recently departed Antonio Navas, head of planning Murray Streets and many others have helped Saatchi & Saatchi regain some of its former glory after what they all admit was a fairly rough patch. It’s won some big accounts, it’s put a few big awards on the mantelpiece and it’s lured a few big names across its newly renovated offices on The Strand. But due to a reduction in client spend—particularly from Spark—and an evolution in the kind of work the agency is being asked to do, it has had to restructure the business.
News
Data dump: illegitimate (media) children
The young’uns are an attractive, but constantly moving, target for marketers. So how are they consuming media? As Colmar Brunton discovered, often illegally.
News
Roy Morgan closes Auckland office, aims to continue servicing Kiwi clients from Australia
In December last year, research company Roy Morgan closed the doors to its New Zealand offices on Auckland’s Swanson Street and let three staff members go in the process. But the company’s deputy chief executive Hugh Amoyal says that this doesn’t imply the end of business on this side of the ditch.
News
NZI and FCB pen poems of pure evil for business-hampering inanimate objects
Last year, NZI and FCB told the tale of a cursed chair wreaking havoc on various businesses in a fictional, aninated town called Port Avon. The primary focus was for the brand to get noticed and, more importantly, liked—and all in one of the dullest, least-engaging categories possible. They succeeded and ‘Devil’s Chair’ became one of New Zealand’s most popular TV commercials. But, as the ad says, bad’s not going anywhere, and the evil has spread to other inanimate workplace objects.
News
Glass and a third full? Cadbury breaks a bit more off its blocks, Whittaker’s holds firm
Hear that? It’s the sound of chocolate lovers nation-wide sharpening their pitchforks after Cadbury announced on its Facebook page that it will be downsizing its family-sized block—again.
News
Dow Group gives Simply Squeezed and Farrah’s a brand refresh
Old gun Simply Squeezed and relatively new flatbread brand Farrah’s both lead their respective categories. And while the conventional FMCG wisdom when in this position is ‘don’t rock the boat’, both brands have called on the Dow Group to give them a makeover.
Movings & Shakings
More creative changes at Whybin\TBWA as Fedyszyn and McMahon depart
After two years at Whybin\TBWA, joint creative directors Lisa Fedyszyn and Jonathan McMahon have departed.
News
TVCs of the week: 3 February
Love and family steal the limelight this week as Michael Hill and Our First Home impress with slick spots.
News
Who’s the biggest of them all? Spark and Vodafone tussle over 4G superiority
New Zealand’s main telco superpowers are butting heads after a billboard war, with both companies claiming to have the country’s largest 4G network. The skirmish has resulted in lawyers’ letters, threats of ASA complaints and general back-and-forth bickering, and a resolution still isn’t on the cards.
News
Sky launches sports streaming service, wait for Neon continues
While everyone has been waiting with bated breath for the impending release of Neon, Sky this week released Fan Pass, a sports streaming service that will give viewers access to NRL, Formula One and Super Rugby. PLUS: the head of Fatso Cuan Gray has been given the reins to lead the new offering.
News
Physical challenge: Reebok’s ode to exercise
Reebok is a big player in the Cross Fit business. And its latest campaign, its biggest in a decade, attempts to show the benefits of exercise by showing that it’s not about being a better tyre flipper, people carrier or rope climber, it’s about being a better human.
News
Cardboard is pretty boring, but you know what isn’t? Cardboard-based advertisng
Companies are always on the hunt for new and interesting ways to get our attention, even if they can hold it for just a few seconds. It’s a bit like trying to stand out amongst a large school of fish. Well, a Wellington company thinks it’s found the answer, and all you need is cardboard and a bit of magical production dust.
News
Super Bowl ads 2015: the highs, the lows and the mehs
Super Bowl 49 delivered the goods on the field yesterday, with a last gasp victory for the New England Patriots, a brawl at the end and some impressive dancing sharks for Katy Perry’s halftime show. Once again, it proved to be a ratings goldmine for NBC, ranking as the “highest overnight rating in Super Bowl history and a four percent increase on last year”. That’s why advertisers pay around US$4.5 million for a nationwide spot—and why so many people seem to be interested in the ads. Herewith, a collection of the goods, bads and uglies.
News
Snow leopards, monkey-eating eagles and cuckoo bees star in Countdown’s latest collectibles effort
Last year, Countdown jumped onto the collectibles bandwagon by distributing DreamWorks Heroes 3D cards to customers who spent $20 or more in stores. And despite this previous campaign being criticised for relying on pester power and for not being environmentally friendly, Countdown is going for another collectibles ride—and this time it’s all about the inhabitants of the wild.
News
EMANZ chair Mark Pickering on Fairfax and NZME joining the experiential game
Following this week’s announcement that NZME had established events and experiential divisions and since Fairfax made a similar move last July, StopPress contacted Mark Pickering, the chair of the Experiential Marketing Association of New Zealand (EMANZ), to share his thoughts on how these moves might impact the Kiwi experiential market.
News
More than a pokie chamber: Skycity lets staff tell its story via Colenso campaign
Skycity has launched its first new campaign since selecting Colenso BBDO as its creative agency in August last year. Dubbed ‘It All Starts Here’ and brought to life by the production team at Finch, the new campaign lets staff members tell their stories from behind the walls of the casinos, hotels and restaurants that make up the company.
News
NZME launches events and experiential divisions, looks to take brands to the people
Following on from a similar move by Fairfax in July last year, NZME has now announced the launch of NZME Events and NZME Experiential in a bid to further consolidate its business in these two areas.
Opinion
Closing the loop: what marketers can learn from Mozart’s syphilis
You might not think there are too many similarities between treating syphilis and differentiating brands, but you’d be wrong, says Andrew Lewis, because it illustrates the importance of combining theory with practice.
News
Pandora reaches 50 billion thumbs up, reveals top 10 most popular songs in New Zealand
Last week, a listener’s decision to thumb up Steely Dan’s Josie while logged into Pandora took the platform to the milestone of 50 billion thumbs up across the United States, Australia and New Zealand. PLUS: Pandora reveals most-liked songs in New Zealand.
News
Owner/marketer: Jonathan Hendriksen, Shuttlerock
To make it a little easier for brands to navigate the treacherous social media terrain and tell their stories more effectively, Jonathan Hendriksen* launched Shuttlerock, a platform that lets businesses aggregate socially sourced content, photos and videos on their websites. And Lady Gaga’s even using it.