Pauline Hanton has announced her departure from Adshel after three highly successful years as the company’s New Zealand sales director in exchange for a role helping to set up a new media company specialising in instore.
Who it’s for: Dairy NZ by Josh & Jamie and Automatic Films
Why we like it: Kiwis are suckers for a bit of good-natured jingoism. And, whether it be rugby, advertising awards or, in this case, milk production, we love nothing more than claiming mostly humble victories over …
Every winter, New Zealanders suffer from coughs, colds and a host of other ailments. And, as a consequence, every winter the New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) struggles to find enough healthy donors. So, with the help of Insight and Automatic Films, it has launched a new campaign to try and get those who can still donate to open up their hearts, almost literally, and hand over some of the precious red stuff to bump up supplies.
The almost constantly shifting marcomms sands claim a few more victims, and StopPress is reeling from the staff carnage.
The TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards are taking place next Thursday at the glorious Langham Hotel. But it’s still not too late to come along and hobnob it with the marketing glitterati. So book your last-minute tickets here. And all those who buy within the next hour will receive a free Nelson Mandela.*
The big agencies all seem to be talking about killing off their digital silos and moving them closer to the central nervous system. Yet there are still plenty of new, small digital shops offering their specialist services. And now there’s another new player on the local digital marketing scene after Market United (MU) announced its arrival on Auckland soil, adding to its offices in Sydney and Perth.
Given the fact that well over six million humans watched Air New Zealand’s ‘The Bare Essentials of Safety’ video on YouTube, it was always going to be a tough act to follow. But the new safety video, which launched today on its branded YouTube channel and aims to show how crazy the airline is about rugby in the lead-up to next year’s Rugby World Cup, certainly doesn’t seem to be suffering from second album syndrome.
Matt Bale, self-proclaimed media junkie, digital zealot, part-time fictional gangster and general manager at OMD Wellington, has confirmed he will be leaving the agency in September to take on “new challenges, etc.”
Banner ads are often criticised for being boring, cheesy, annoying, intrusive or a combination of all four. David McGregor, writing in Idealog, went as far as calling online promotional activity “the Great Pacific Garbage Patch of the advertising business”. But Orcon, Special Group, Exposure and Salt Interactive have joined forces to show that very good things can happen when the utility of the digital space is combined with the ideas of agency land.
There’s been plenty of talk around the industry traps recently about both the commoditisation of media and the apparent fragmentation of big clients’ business. A lot of it seems to be just that: talk. But not when it comes to the country’s biggest company, Fonterra, which has split up its media business, giving Naked Communications the communications, strategy and channel planning work and leaving OMD with the media buying.
There will undoubtedly be a few bottles of Montana (or is that Brancott Estate?) consumed in the TBWA\ towers in the coming months after it disrupted Pernod Ricard New Zealand into handing over its business. And, once again, TBWA\ will be working closely with Mitchell Communication Group on the account, which won the media business from ZenithOptimedia.
That inconsequential stuff the ads are placed around on the telly (aka programming) has been acknowledged once again, with finalists for 41 sections across three categories—news and current affairs, general television and documentary—announced in this year’s Qantas Film and Television Awards.
Who’s it for: State by Colenso BBDO
Why we like it: We may be slightly biased, but State’s ‘My 3 Things’ campaign, which taps into our insatiable love of objects and plays on the fear that we might actually lose them, is a good’un. The …
I often write about new campaigns. But I don’t often write about new campaigns that are directly connected to me. So let me get out my literary quick unpick and unweave the tapestry of advertising life as I tell you a tale that involves a series of moderately interesting things and events including, but not limited to, printed words, photography, nuptials, skybeasts, gifts, awesome art and a giant billboard.
Who’s it for: The Women’s Refuge 2010 appeal by Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington.
Why we like it: Powerful, tense and beautifully made. And the treading on eggshells metaphor (as well as that chilling hand on the armchair shot) really gets across how psychologically damaging it can be …
The judges had their opportunity to judge harshly at Adshel’s Creative Challenge a few nights ago and, while it was a pretty tight race, they eventually decided that the thought behind Publicis Mojo’s campaign was the best (read all about the one hour-long pressure cooker creative escapade here). But what would the stupid judges know? See if you agree with their decisions and impose your own judgements on these, the top three entries.
There were beautiful flowery turds, a range of moderately offensive slogans and even a picture of a woman smoking a baby in a pipe. But only one idea could take home the $125,000 prize on offer at Adshel’s inaugural Creative Challenge last night and, in the end, it was Publicis Mojo’s campaign ‘Leave with more questions than answers’ for the Auckland Fringe festival that was chosen as the best.
It was an offer too good to refuse and after just six months in operation, indie agency Josh & Jamie have made their first creative signing: the entire Assignment Group staff roster. Or, slightly more accurately, J&J founders Josh Lancaster and Jamie Hitchcock will soon be nestling into the nurturing bosom of Assignment Group.
Candida, Kinetic 121 and New Zealand Post Targeted Communications have sounded the horn for entries into this year’s Art of the Envelope awards. And while the creative postal interpretations will be sure to arouse all who lay eyes upon them, the bcg² campaign that shows some well-known marketing characters bringing the sexy back to the humble envelope is possibly even more stimulating.
Who it’s for: Frucor/V by Colenso BBDO
Why we like it: It was always going to be hard to top the success of—and mystery inspired by—the previous V campaigns, but ‘Pomparkour’, the new spot—and new sport—from Colenso and independent director Nathan Price …
For months the New Zealand tech retailers have been displaying a range of iPad paraphernalia for sale in their stores and, as of today, they actually get to sell the object all that paraphernalia is associated with. But after all the hype, all the talk of publishing revolutions and all the feverish Tweetbooking about Jobs Almighty and his newest hero product, there seems to be a surprising dearth of local applications available on the day of the iPad’s release in New Zealand.
While most normal people merely think about ridiculous ideas and never actually go through with them, the beauty of the ad industry is that agencies are often given a big bunch of cash to make those ridiculous ideas come true. And that’s exactly what Colenso has done with its latest—and awesome—ladder-inspired campaign for V’s new Isokinetic, guarana infused energy drink.
With a solid crowd to make the obligatory live crosses from Breakfast weatherman Tamati Coffey look good, the spray painting talents of the Cut Collective and a host of confused-looking commuters gazing up at a giant billboard as they powered to work, Cadbury kicked off its nationwide roadshow for the Billboard to Bags campaign this morning at ‘experiential venue’ 1 Queen St in Auckland.
Who it’s for: Freeview
Why we like it: Half the office said they vomited in their mouth and changed the channel when this chirpy old duck and her grumpy old curmudgeon husband graced their screens to tell everyone about Freeview, and the other half said they quite …
We all know the marcomms community thrives under pressure. As a result, entries tend to come in at the last minute (that was certainly the case for entries into this year’s Marketing Awards). And time is running out to get your name in the hat for the Creative Challenge—and get your hands on the $125,000 prize—with registrations for the inaugural event set to close tomorrow.
DDB NZ has added three new team members to its creative department, but it’s still on the hunt for a creative director to replace Adam Kanzer, who left in mid May. And Clemenger BBDO is in a similar position, with former creative director Paul Nagy yet to be replaced and a new managing director still to be found to replace Lesley Brown, who departed about 18 months ago to have a baby and chose not to come back.
For the second year in a row, DDB walked away with a cool $10,000 after the Sky Arts Channel Mark Rothco spot took out the Newspaper Ad of the Year prize last week (this Throaties spot won the 2009 edition). And the highlight of the night—aside, of course, from the big grand finale announcement, the delectable nibbles and the burly guard who was keeping watch over the silver briefcase on the table that was filled with $10,000 cash—had to be the Q+A video with Chuck Porter, the convenor of judges at this year’s event and co-founder of award-hogging US ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
Love it or loathe it, social media has become an extremely powerful communications force in recent times. And, according to Nielsen’s 2010 Social Media Report, its marketing star continues to rise in New Zealand as users start interacting more with brands online and rely on their social networks to guide purchasing decisions.
Is it just me, or is this billboard for Haier appliances unintentionally humorous?
The riches keep rolling in for DDB’s Sky TV Arts Channel campaign, after the Mark Rothko print ad, one of a series of newspaper advertisements promoting subscriptions to the channel, was awarded the Newspaper Advertisement of the Year for 09/10.