There has been a fair amount of activity behind the scenes at the nation’s institutes of higher education over the last few months. Here’s a look at what’s been happening at Otago, AUT and Unitec.
The Japanese are well known having produced some of the best scary movies in popular culture. But what they aren’t known for all that well is producing scary films for the purposes of promoting health products. As strange as this might sound, Japanese ad agency Tokyu has developed a new short horror film with the aim of maximising the number of calories the viewer burns through while watching.
Air New Zealand lodged itself firmly into the glow of the upcoming Rugby World Cup by launching a new safety video featuring the All Blacks depicted in a Men in Black setting. The five-minute clip shows chief protagonist Richie McCaw and his sidekick Dan Carter walking into the Men in Black building for a meeting with Agent Zed (played by actor Rip Torn), who instructs them to keep Air New Zealand passengers safe. What ensues is a safety rap performed by Stan Walker with some reasonably impressive supporting vocals by Israel Dagg.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
At the beginning of June, Gregg’s released a high-energy brand ad that pulled its disparate product strings together. It was an explosion of colour that gave a nod to the brand’s cheeky heritage by showing a range of mischievous Kiwi characters using the products in their own unique way. And with each segment playing out to to an infectious backtrack, the ad was an audio-visual feast that made jelly, coffee, spices, hot chocolate and food pastes look like party essentials. The creative efforts of FCB and the production skills of Flying Fish have now caught the attention of the team at Colmar Brunton, who have awarded the spot the Ad Impact award for June.
Peugeot’s latest TV ad may seem run of the mill. That is until they promise ‘an online experience you’ll never forget’. Given advertisers are known for their hyperbolic tendencies, StopPress didn’t have high hopes of Peugeot living up to its claim. However, upon arrival at Pure 308 website, we were pleasantly surprised by an eye-catching online execution. PLUS: a look at few other slick online efforts.
The best outdoor and print ads are simple, visually arresting and try to create a smile in the mind. And natural health company Red Seal has managed to do just that with a campaign that illustrates its product-development philosophy of combining scientific research and naturopathic knowledge.
After 12 years of business, Consortium has closed its doors after losing the AUT business. And Young & Shand has taken over its sole account, Lightbox, as well as four of its staff. PLUS: Young & Shand’s other business wins and staff announcements.
Last week, radio personalities PJ Harding and Jase Hawkins introduced the world to a culinary abomination called Sushiwi, a disturbing conflation of a pie with a sushi roll. So in light of this unorthodox use of the humble pie, we look at some other examples of pies appearing in unexpected places.
Honda has tested our limits with a new ad called ‘Keep Up (faster)’ which literally makes the viewer keep up.
Damien Venuto chats to the team in the capital about what this win means for a brand moving away from its previously conservative image.
While digital billboards and ad shells are slowly becoming more common in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland, we don’t yet have any that can see us and talk to us. But Graubünden Tourism does.
Ahhhhh, the desk. That thing many of us spend far too much time sitting at (and slowly dying). And that thing that has been completely transformed by the technological revolution of the past few decades, as a clip from the Harvard Innovation Lab shows.
As Whittaker’s continues to show, co-branding initiatives can work brilliantly when the goals are aligned because both brands have motivation to help each other out. That makes sense when it’s in a similar category. But does it work for cars and clothing? Or is it a branding bridge too far?
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
You may have noticed there’s a rugby game on this weekend. And you may have noticed that there is usually a whole heap of inane chat before, during and after each match. But Guy Montgomery and Fasitua Amosa have shown us what a post-match should be like with a clip on Squiz, a site that calls itself “New Zealand’s home of short-form video content”.
Using the premise that small, seemingly insignificant moments carry enormous gravitas when viewed in retrospect, the Danish Road Safety Council attempts to illustrate how a simple breath of air pushed out of your lungs could make a massive difference.
To promote the undeniably impressive feat of turning beer byproducts into biofuel, DB Export has released a series of TVCs that make the bold claim that this move could literally save the entire world—as well as the dolphins and pandas that inhabit it.
Q Card has launched a new campaign via Federation that tells the story of campervan through a montage of nostalgic shots that show the vehicle being handed down from one generation to the next.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
Craft beer drinkers can be a fairly precious bunch. If it doesn’t have a weird name and hints of passionfruit or coffee or goat meat, it’s basically not worth drinking. But one man is hoping to solve the problem of tasteless beer forever.
Google has unveiled an ‘undo send’ browser extension that users can activate to give them ability to delete a recently sent email within five, ten, 15 or 30 seconds of sending it. To initiate this godsend, users simply need to click on the cog icon, head to settings and then activate the option.
Jacqueline Bourke, global creative insights lead at Getty Images, shares stats, trends and examples of mobile marketing in New Zealand.
Billions of dollars are being funnelled into digital advertising. But where there’s money, there’s usually crime. Damien Venuto investigates the issue of ad fraud in New Zealand and finds out what the industry is doing about it.
A pat on the back for The Co-operative Bank, Air New Zealand and Farmstrong.
Author, Seven Sharp reporter and dashing raconteur Tim Wilson discusses his fondness for Kanye West backing tracks, his addiction to Twitter and his wife-based media.
Pedigree and Colenso’s latest work aims to show us that dogs bring out the best in humanity. This short film about a very special relationship between a man and his best mate backs that up—and is likely to lead to a bit of moisture on the eye.
As Apple gets ready to take on the established streaming services with its new musical moves, Spotify has created a clever feature called Taste Rewind that acts as a musical time machine and shows users how the music of the past has influenced the music of today.
The Webby’s celebrate the best digital work done over the past year. And this year, along with Grey Goose, it created a site showing 50 of the best ideas. It also wanted to celebrate the creators, so, as part of that campaign it caught up with the founders of Refinery 29, Vine, Giphy, Cool Hunting and Harry’s. And they had plenty of advice for anyone working in the digital arts.