Using the premise that the high five is the veritable Rosetta stone of celebratory language, DDB’s new Lotto NZ ad takes a likeable Kiwi Everyman on an international journey, during which he only speaks in palm slaps.
APN News & Media Limited today announced in a release that it will acquire full ownership of The Radio Network (TRN) and Australian Radio Network (ARN) from US-based Clear Channel Communications for $246.5 million. This move will give APN 100 percent control of what it claims is the largest network of radio stations across the trans-Tasman region.
In November last year, Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBC) got 12 celebrities to silently stare at a camera as part of the ‘silent treatment’ campaign. And now, only three months later, that silence is being broken with the stories of Kiwis who have decided to shave for cure. The integrated campaign, once again developed by .99 and brought to life by Blockhead Visual Effects, aims to spread awareness for the annual ‘Shave Week’ appeal that runs from 17 to 23 March.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Colenso will be adding security camera footage of customers that purchase the ‘Outlaw’ burger to a series of pre-rolls, online banners and social media. Once the advert has been released, the public will be given one day to identify the person depicted in the ad, and the first person to do so on the Burger King Facebook group will be given a $250 reward.
Viewers could’ve been forgiven for believing that the food cooking format had reached its capacity on Kiwi TV with the addition The Great Food Race. But the networks beg to differ, and TVNZ recently announced that it has acquired the rights from Endemol to produce a New Zealand version of My Kitchen Rules, the popular Australia show that enters its fifth season this year. Plus: find out which shows are being dropped by the broadcaster.
Nielsen and the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) have released 2013’s fourth quarter readership and circulation statistics for newspapers and magazines. And while the previous article on magazines held some good news, the numbers for newspapers are far bleaker. However, it must be remembered that Nielsen’s readership insights for newspapers are exclusively based on print. So while the statistics might not seem promising, they only offer a glimpse at one aspect of readership.
The creative agency True has collaborated with Adshel and the mobile application business StQry (pronounced story) to turn Britomart concourse into an ad-hoc gallery for World of WearableArt (WOW) by putting up 22 large, photographic artworks, which have been carefully chosen from ‘WearableArt,’ a new book that celebrates the WOW Awards Show.
Nielsen recently released the readership figures for Q4 2013, and, in spite of all the doomsday prophecies, the statistics showed year-on-year growth (in readership) for 20 of the magazines surveyed.
Radio New Zealand (RNZ) has announced that Simon Mercep will leave the Morning Report in April when Geoff Robinson, the co-host on the show, retires. And according to a Herald report, the empty seats left at the Morning Report by the imminent departure of the two hosts will be filled by Auckland-based Guyon Espiner and, if speculation is to be trusted, Wellington journalist Susie Ferguson, who has previously filled in on the show.
Colenso BBDO, Finch Productions, Heart of the City, ATEED and Level Two Music NZ have conspired in an attempt to sell Auckland with a new spot that combines sweeping cityscapes, an emotive score and the gravelly voice of an unseen narrator.
Colenso BBDO has confirmed that creative director Levi Slavin will be leaving the agency to join New York-based Anomaly, with his last day falling on 28 February.
In August last year, Middle East Campaign reported that Havas Media had won the global media account for Emirates from Starcom MediaVest Group. This change now seems to have rippled into the Kiwi market, as Emirates has confirmed the move of its New Zealand media business from Starcom to Lassoo. Updated with a comment from Lassoo director Anna St George.
It’s no secret that Colenso BBDO had a fantastic 2013. The agency on College Hill won eight out nine pitches and picked up enough local and international awards to fill at least a few shelves. And given that it has now been listed as the runner-up on Ad Age’s prestigious ‘International Agency of the Year’ list, it seems that 2014 will start in the same way that last year ended: with more awards and a consequent barrage of dismissive comments.
With the proliferation of smartphones, the meaning of the word mobile has shifted from its humble origins as a means by which movement is made possible to something that implies wireless interconnectivity. But this summer, several brands have decided to wind back the clock and give the phrase ‘brand mobility’ a retro twist.
In anticipation of the Super Rugby hype that will begin to captivate the nation from 15 February, APN has rebranded its sports tipping and fantasy portal as the Dream Team. In addition to a new logo, the updated version will also feature a fresh design, in-game experiences, enhanced functionality and greater integration on the Herald website.
A confused Guy Williams is the punch line of a new TVC that Mediaworks Radio has launched to promote the line-up of The Edge. Shot as a pool party by Daniel Thorn and his team at Rubberneck productions, the 30-second video also features cameo performances by The Edge radio personalities Dominic Harvey, Steph Monks, Sharyn Casey, Jay-Jay Feeney, Clint Roberts, Megan Annear and Mike Puru. Updated with comments from Guy Williams.
Last night, the inaugural episodes of The Great Food Race and the fifth season of Masterchef New Zealand aired on TV3 and TV One, respectively. And with this started what could potentially turn into a ratings battle for food format supremacy in 2014.
Just over two months after taking the George Weston Foods account off DDB’s hands, Cloenso BBDO has now launched a slightly risqué campaign to get the Bürgen bread range noticed. Four outdoor billboards and four 15-second TVCs, all shot in a minimalist style by photographer Tim White, comprise the campaign, which encourages consumers of all ages to break their Bürgen virginity.
We’ll be seeing a lot more of the nation’s rugby stars in their tighty-whities now that Jockey has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the All Blacks and the All Blacks Sevens. Updated with comments from Jockey marketing manager Jane Lawry.
Christchurch Airport is no longer the sole airport listed in APN Outdoor New Zealand’s ledger, because the company has just announced that it has won the Auckland Airport account.
In late November last year, Ikon restructuring led to the rather unexpected ousting of then-managing partners Lee Parkinson and Tom Davidson. And now, fewer than two months later, the pair has announced the launch of a new agency called The Family.
Hamilton-based King St’s chief executive Chris Williams has confirmed that the agency has struck the Wendy’s New Zealand account from its ledger. This news comes at time when Auckland Uni, another of the agency’s big accounts, is accepting pitches from competing agencies.
The Outdoor Media Association of New Zealand (OMANZ) today announced a fourth quarter revenue total of $18,659,878, up 1.3 percent from the same time last year. This figure brought the revenue total for 2013 to $66,455,096, which OMANZ says is a 13 percent increase from 2012.
Adshel has unveiled a new summer appeal poster based on Colenso BBDO’s idea that won the Creative Challenge in 2012. The new poster was initially meant to employ DraftFCB’s winning concept from last year’s competition, but the agency could not complete the poster in time for the summer appeal. Fortunately, Running with Scissors (the agency that currently holds the Surf Life Saving account) stepped in to update Colenso’s concept.
In order to ameliorate cricket’s image as the boring cousin of other sports and make it more accessible to a younger generation, the creative agency True has collaborated with OMD, New Zealand Cricket, ANZ, iHeart Radio, Radio Sport and several Kiwi celebrities to give the sport a new voice through an initiative called the Alternative Commentary Collective (ACC). Updated with cricket and rugby viewership numbers from Nielsen.
Media Titles Group has sold its holding in Rugby News to Mark Calverley of Auckland in a move that sees the six directors, which comprised the largely Australian-based group, relinquishing their control of the publication.
Following on from the success of Meat, the Image Centre publishing group has now launched Toast! magazine in collaboration with Liquorland. The first edition of the quarterly content marketing magazine was released in early January, and over 105,000 issues have already been distributed throughout New Zealand.
On 27 January a new-look Seven Sharp will see Mike Hosking and Toni Street joining the sole survivor of last year’s Christmas shuffle, Jesse Mulligan, as they take to Kiwi televisions for the first time. But Mulligan isn’t the only one returning to the Seven Sharp fray, because TVNZ has also announced that RaboDirect, the online bank, has re-signed its sponsorship agreement with the show.
Rather than adopting the shock-inspired approach, DraftFCB has instead chosen to use a PR stunt to show off the utility of the new Sony waterproof MP3 player. The Auckland-based agency dropped the product into a bottle of water and then placed it in vending machines located in areas where the target market would be likely to pass them.
TAB’s new spot, starring a rugged John Leigh, straddles a risky moral line by claiming that the Triple Trio betting initiative requires a combination of both skill and chance. PLUS: find out which Australian ad agency turned its back on the gambling industry.