This post was created by one of the small but mighty StopPress team of journalists. Among their number are: Zahra Shahtahmasebi, Niko Kloeten, Penny Murray and Rachel Tsai. Send your news to [email protected].
If you’re going to attach a tagline like ‘vanguard until death’ to your company’s name, then you’d better make sure you live up to it. So, in an effort to live up to the expectations set by its branding, three Michelin-starred restaurant Diverxo has commissioned the creation of a macabre short film that depicts a collection of diners eating the creations of a mysterious chef.
The Thug Kitchen Cookbook launched in bookstores this month, and with the tagline “Eat like you give a fuck”, you can tell their brand ethos revolves around using a lot of swear words.
Although it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, an independent survey commissioned by Reachmedia has found that Kiwis are becoming skilled at avoiding advertising in new forms of media and are utilising technology to assist them. StopPress takes a look at what the results of the survey say.
Spark gave New Zealand a bit of tease before it launched its new ‘Never Stop Starting’ campaign with some unbranded billboards and digital ads. And there’s some more mystery afoot, with a teaser video featuring Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams being released last night.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
Truth is meant to be stranger than fiction. And while the history of Scottish whisky brand Ballantine’s certainly has its strange bits, the fictional story of what might have been if it hadn’t stayed true to its origins and dabbled in brand extensions is much weirder.
A number of premium brands are starting to take advantage of longer-form benefits of using YouTube as an advertising channel as recently seen with Guinness’ ‘Sapeurs’ mini-documentary, Corona’s short surf films and Johnnie Walker’s ‘The Gentleman’s Wager’. As illustrated in each of these videos, brand dollars can translate into high production videos, which are entertaining despite falling into the advertising category. Having seen its branding counterparts enjoy success on YouTube through longer form content, Chanel No 5 has recently commissioned Baz Luhrmann to direct a short film, and the result steps very close to the line of utter madness.
Changes at OMD, MediaWorks, Grace, Designworks and Ambient Group.
Earlier this week, Glassons provoked the ire of its Facebook fans, Twitter followers and an eating disorders expert for featuring a mannequin that was designed to have its ribs showing. Auckland-based psychotherapist Anna Drijver, who specialises in a range of eating disorders, told the Herald that the use of the mannequin was “absurd” and added that this approach to window promotions would have a “negative effect” on both young boys and girls. Yet, despite this controversy still simmering on social media networks, Glassons has now unveiled a new campaign that will undoubtedly also raise a few eyebrows for featuring the controversial act of bull-riding.
Mediacom won the grunty Fonterra business off OMD a few months back and now it will be taking on another big food account after Nestlé handed its Australasian media business to Groupm.
A comedy club in Barcelona is experimenting with a new way of charging patrons. On a per laugh basis.
Music often plays a big role in memories, reminding us of good times and bad. And Spotify is promoting its vast library with a nice campaign based around the slogan of ‘you have the story, we have the song’ and the hashtag #thatsongwhen. PLUS: what fellow streaming service Pandora is up to.
Much in the same way that client demand has driven the search for more granular audience insights, the outdoor industry has also been making moves to meet the growing expectation of digital solutions. APN Outdoor was first to that large-format party with its digital billboard network in Auckland and now it’s set to switch on New Zealand’s largest high-resolution digital billboard at Auckland Airport in December. PLUS: Two new screens coming to ASB Showgrounds.
On 25 September 2013, skipper Jimmy Spithill led Oracle Team USA to victory in the final race of the America’s Cup, orchestrating one of the unlikeliest comebacks in sporting history while simultaneously breaking the hearts of every Kiwi that had stopped working to watch the race. Undoubtedly, there are more than a few sailing fans who would go to great lengths to take on Spithill and reclaim New Zealand’s honour. So, in a new mobile campaign launched on 14 October, Vodafone is giving Kiwis a chance to do just that. But to take on Spithill in a live race, Kiwis first need to show their thumb-tapping prowess by playing Vodafone’s new America’s Cup-themed sailing game hosted on the microsite Vodafonesailing.co.nz.
Got a spare six hours? Well, you’ll need it if you want to sit through Virgin’s strange—and strangely compelling—new online campaign.
With the launch of Apple Pay last month, Semble last week and various other schemes, being able to pay with your mobile phone is fast becoming a reality. But bank customers have been doing it for a few years now. And ASB says financial transactions through its mobile app have increased by two thirds in the past year, pushing internet banking firmly into second place.
“Orcon is shining the spotlight on bandwidth throttling used by big telcos, including Vodafone and Spark, in a new campaign that encourages Kiwis to look at the fine print before signing up to broadband plans that could unnecessarily be slowing then down,” touts the media release from Orcon that accompanies the launch of its new campaign featuring a plum-dressed dictator of ambigious origin removing the wig of what is meant to be the chief executive of a major telco (seemingly Spark, if the colour scheme of the faux promotional material is anything to go by). UPDATE: ASA confirms that complaints have been lodged.
While trying to buy the latest Ken Ring book, StopPress inadvertently put a thoroughbred on the company credit card instead. So help us give it an appropriate name and the best suggestion will win two tickets worth $95 to the Melbourne Cup festivities at Ostro on November 4.
Volvo has the honour of creating what many view as the best truck ad ever made with Epic Split. But two can play at that surreal game and Mercedes has decided to let a couple of its creations get freaky in a Dirty Dancing-inspired ad for the Vito van.
To celebrate the world’s ‘Universal Pen’, Bic has sought to discover the world’s ‘Universal Typeface’ .
A while back Swedish hair brand Apolosophy got plenty of attention for its creative use of subway advertising. And a Swedish cancer charity has added a little more emotion to that idea.
BNZ is getting involved in the world of forums by launching BNZ Community, a social hub “where New Zealanders can give, and get, guidance on all things banking and money-related”. Coinciding with the start of Money Week, BNZ’s director of retail and marketing Craig Herbison says that BNZ Community will help make it easier for New Zealanders to talk about money and banking. BNZ Community has two main components: a forum where users can post a query, start up a conversation and search out the best answers to questions; and the separate ‘Good with Money’ blog, where BNZ’s staff will be providing information on how customers can be smarter with their money.
MediaWorks is playing the Paul Henry card next year and moving him to a hybrid TV/radio/digital breakfast show that will spell the end of The Paul Henry Show, Firstline and Marcus Lush on RadioLive. MediaWorks says his show was a success. So you can judge for yourself with a comparison to the last year of Nightline from Nielsen’s TAM ratings. PLUS: Firstline vs. Breakfast.
As well as its focus on the dangers of drugs and booze, NZTA and Clemenger BBDO have also been pushing the dangers of distractions, and while most of the attention has so far been focused on phone use, its Party Crashes campaign aims to show how passengers can be also be the cause of accidents.
ANZ is understandably keen to get more Kiwis buying, building and renovating, so it’s bringing Kevin McCloud, design expert and host of the British home renovation show Grand Designs since 1999, to visit New Zealand to offer some inspiration to property lovers. He’ll talk about the highs and lows of the show (MediaWorks is currently looking for houses for a New Zealand version of the show) and offer his thoughts on how that relates to New Zealand at a one-off speaking event on 22 October at the Viaduct Events Centre. And we’ve got a couple of tickets to give away, so post a link to the coolest/funniest piece of design you’ve seen recently and to the winner shall go the spoils.
The expression ‘a third wheel’ and the oft-used phrase ‘two’s company, three’s a crowd’ are usually employed to describe a situation whereby a third participant somehow ruins the dynamism between a couple. However, DDB doesn’t agree with this sentiment. In a trio of new TVCs, which aim to draw attention to Lotto NZ’s new game called 3 Play, DDB attempts to show that ordinary activities are way better when done in a group of three.
Next’s annual Woman of the Year awards took place last night, with Sita Selupe, founder and principal of Rise Up Academy and chief executive of Rise Up Trust, taking the supreme and education awards, Lisa Carrington taking the sport category, Miranda Harcourt taking the culture gong, My Food Bag co-founder Cecilia Robinson taking the business category and psychologist Sally Merry earning the health and science winner. So sit back, grab a saveloy from the Friday snack table and check out some glamour shots from the night.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
After five successful seasons, TVNZ has decided to pull the plug on MasterChef NZ to focus on other multi-night formats, including new drama Filthy Rich and new DIY porn Our First Home. And while TVNZ basks in the soapy ratings sunlight of Home & Away and Shortland St, MediaWorks is looking to follow suit and is asking for submissions for its own multi-night soap.
