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NZHL and Bad Magic make ‘boring banger’ for mortgage holders
Rapper Manu Walters.
Home loan and insurance adviser NZHL has partnered with rapper Manu Walters and creative agency Bad Magic.
Together, they aim to let mortgage owners know they are not alone as rising mortgage and living costs are crushing the fun out of life.
The partnership has resulted in ‘The boring banger’, a new track created using real submissions from a radio campaign searching for ‘New Zealand’s most boring New Zealander’. The campaign attracted more than 900 entries from Kiwis sharing the sacrifices they are making to get ahead.
An uplifting anthem
Rather than treating those stories as something to be ashamed of, NZHL chose to celebrate them.
They brought in Walters to weave the submissions into an unexpectedly uplifting anthem.
NZHL head of group marketing Janelle Ericksen says the campaign is about helping people feel seen.
“We know many New Zealanders are making ongoing trade-offs as they manage their mortgage, and for some that shows up in everyday life. We wanted to acknowledge that reality by reflecting those experiences so people feel seen and open the door to conversations about how it could be different, without feeling like you’re living on cereal for every meal.”
Not tone deaf
Bad Magic co-founder Thomas Darlow says the campaign was inspired by the honesty of the entries.
“We were planning to do something funny with the submissions but reading them was brutal. People are battling. And so it felt tone deaf to do something flippant.
“The NZHL team suggested we pivot, and so we called in my absolute favourite artist Manu. He can make the most mundane and relatable experiences sound aspirational. Whatever Beliebers are to Justin, I am that to him.”
With more than 100,000 songs added to Spotify each day, the team shifted the focus to the songwriting process, documenting it in a short film.
The campaign is running across digital, social and earned channels, and builds on NZHL’s long-running focus on helping New Zealanders balance mortgages with everyday life.
