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].
“A local shop for local people” may come from the excruciating comic genius of The League of Gentlemen, but it’s a mission statement that has worked wonders for Flooring Xtra. And now, following a rapid rise up the Kiwi carpeting ranks, it’s set to become a local company for Aussie people.
Despite some strong rumourmongery that claimed ex Clemenger BBDO Wellington managing director Peter Biggs was set to return to a role in New Zealand after five years spent successfully running the show at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, the man himself has quashed those rumours and says he’s staying put.
This week on the telly, Rhys plays with his baubles; find out who wins in a fight between the Warehouse family and Countdown Colemans; look at all the pills, potions and lotions on offer for hayfever season; Farmers, Briscoes, Harvey Norman and pretty much every other retailer get into the festive spirit; the return of James Blunt leads to hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders being sick in their own mouths; and, having already launched online, ASB’s new ads finally reach the TV screens, which, if you believe the front page story on the Sunday Star Times yesterday, led to “a flurry of complaints” to the ASA about the IVF assistance ad (in media land, it seems seven complaints constitutes a flurry).
Absolut has released its latest limited edition seasonal bottle design and it’s packed some extra stylish bling this summer with Absolut Glimmer, a retro crystal-patterned bottle that “harks back to an era dominated by classic cocktail culture”. We’ve got two of the sparkly numbers to give away. But you must be 18 or over to enter and you must enjoy Absolut responsibly. So tell us the most responsible way to enjoy it and to the most responsible will go the liquid spoils.
… as Pead PR has a growth spurt, award-winning ad photographer Rory Carter signs with International Rescue, Loyalty New Zealand welcomes an old face back to the office, McCann Worldgroup New Zealand snaps up a talented creative couple, Twenty nabs a creative director and Omnilab Media goes for the digital jugular.
It’s raining quality commercial messages as Fly Buys gets cartoony with Air New Zealand, the National Bank finds its groove, Bazaar breads channels OMC, Fairfax goes outdoor for its new ‘Find out More’ campaign, Kiwi director Dylan Pharazyn blocks it all out for Tiger Beer and feast your eyes on two of the most powerful ads of the year.
After a government tender, M&C Saatchi has taken the honours as the new ad agency for New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE), taking over from Clemenger BBDO.
… as David Innes hangs up his headphones, Charlotte Findlay shacks up with Telecom, Q Group New Zealand opens the doors to a raft of newbies, Paul Wright aims for US domination with Harcourts and Southern Hospitality goes trans-Tasman.
The local ad fraternity, the global cognoscenti and plenty of actual New Zealanders were all smitten with Orcon and Special Group’s ‘Orcon + Iggy’ campaign. But, as cliche-loving rugby players always say, you’re only as good as your last match. And despite the fact the trophies have flowed fairly freely for the pairing in 2010, the Orcon business is currently up for pitch.
Saatchi & Saatchi has been appointed as the new creative agency for New Zealand rural insurance company FMG, beating out three other agencies in a competitive pitch, and taking over from ‘the heartland agency’ Tracta, previously known as Adplus.
It’s a “web-based digital asset delivery system” used by some of the world’s top agencies and publishers. And now, with the help of Dubsat, which specialises in managing and delivering digital content for the advertising and entertainment industries, Adsend has arrived in Australasia.
To celebrate the arrival of barbecue season (and to reference the recent increase in explicitly man-focused advertising) we thought it appropriate to compile a post filled to the brim with meat-related news, including the announcement of New Zealand’s Next Top Sausage, accolades for Silver Fern Farms and New Zealand’s penchant for gourmet burgers.
There’s only one word spoken in the Fire Service’s new TVC. But that doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of communication.
Two New Zealand soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines in western France during World War I. They find a crying baby in a ditch, lying under its dead parents. What happens when one man wants to save it and the other doesn’t? Not only is this based on a startling true story, but the CG animated short film version, Poppy, has won two top awards at the SIGGRAPH 2010 Computer Animation Festivals.
… as Yellow wins some more awards, the wheels on the Instant Kiwi scratchie bus go round and round, Fresh PR slips into something more comfortable, the University of Auckland School of Business reaches a big milestone with its 40,000th Short Course attendant, TVNZ ups its streaming, TV3 spruces up its website, the crowd goes wild for Microsoft Kinect and Sealegs is endorsed by scientists.
McDonald’s New Zealand has made a key marketing appointment. And it’s a familiar face: ex-Air New Zealander Jules Lloyd, who recently left the airline after an eight year stint.
Despite recent well-publicised difficulties in the retail sector, Newmarket has done a pretty good job of trumpeting its swankiness and array of shopping options. But it now has a suburban rival, after an enthusiastic group of business owners from the High Street District, together with the champions of the Auckland CBD Heart of The City, appointed the Toot Group to ramp up interest in the area with “an exciting new campaign of happenings”.
Bored with your daily ad watching routine? Well, Saatchi & Saatchi and Sanitarium have come up with a solution, making 15 commercials with the same script and setting, but changing three elements in each execution for Light n Tasty’s ‘Every Day Different’ campaign.
The innovative entries came from far and wide—even for the first time from Britain—but DraftFCB’s Tony Clewett and the fantastically named Rob Banks had the stand-out with their 3D saw made from mock fifty dollar notes and were awarded Best in Show at this year’s Art of The Envelope Awards.
Back in 1989, the first threads of the World Wide Web were woven at Waikato and Victoria Universities via a router from NASA. And, for an exorbitant $5500 a month, educational institutions in New Zealand could link to the rest of the world. The first 21 years have been chronicled by Down to the Wire, a fascinating archive of our digital history made up of interviews with media experts, techsperts and commentators. And now it’s time to look at the future, launching a competition called 20:20 Foresight that asks all students and graduates aged 17 to 25 to send in their mind-boggling visions of the internet in the year 2020.
The people and businesses of the Garden City have endured trying times this year but they have at least one cause for celebration: Christchurch Casino took home the Air New Zealand supreme award at this year’s Tourism Industry Awards, while Kelly Tarlton’s was recognised for its innovative marketing campaigns and Rhythm and Vines took home the best festival/event tourism award.
It’s not every day you get a chance to see the inner-most workings of an institution that was ranked as the world’s fourth best creative ad school by YoungGuns earlier this year. But it just so happens the young whippersnappers from Media Design School are showing off the year’s wares on Wednesday night from 5.30-8.30pm at the Mini Garage on Ponsonby Road. So, if you’re in the biz, get along and see what the future holds.
It’s a celebration of creativity where the humble envelope is given a chance to shine. And tomorrow night at Deus ex Machina in Auckland, with Kiwi pop star and t-shirt dealer Dave Gibson on MC duties, the winners of the 2010 Art Of The Envelope Awards will be announced. So without further ado, here are some glamour shots of the stellar finalists who are in the running for both booty and bragging points.
Another big departure at Saatchi & Saatchi. And elsewhere some fresh human arrivals at MediaWorks TV, Fairfax Media, DB Breweries and The Pond.
Thanks to a successful relationship with Canon New Zealand over the past six years, Auckland marketing agency BallantyneTaylor has added another big string to its B2B bow, beating out two Sydney agencies for the Canon Australia business in a joint pitch with Datalicious, which will be providing data collection, analytics and facilitation.
Both loved and loathed, the New Zealand Truth newspaper prospered throughout the twentieth century and wielded considerable influence at all levels of society. And its colourful warts and all story is now the subject of a book by author and former staffer Redmer Yska called Truth: The Rise and Fall of the People’s Paper.
The Nielsen newspaper readership survey year on year comparative results are black and white and read all over: APN’s NZ Herald and the Herald on Sunday are the only newspapers that have improved their readerships nationally, and Sunday News, Dominion Post and Sunday Star-Times, all published by Fairfax, have each lost readership of 10 percent or more throughout the country.
It’s regularly said that golf and beer go together almost as well as raspberry and coke. And, in keeping with the long-established annual beer marketing tradition, Tui and Saatchi & Saatchi have created a new summer campaign that aims to celebrate legends, kicking things off with a wee gem showing a few lads indulging in a bit of extreme white ball chasing.
The nabbing of a few big contracts has put some wind in the sails of PMP New Zealand, which has announced the future-proofing of its New Zealand operations with a $19.5 million investment in new plant and equipment and a new print and distribution facility.
Not surprisingly, there’s been no shortage of opinions on Droga5’s massive new ASB campaign/rebrand, which went live over the weekend. And we’re giving you even more chances to judge, with the first two TVCs ‘Chance’ and ‘Mint Sauce’, a few press ads/posters that were created by three upcoming Kiwi artists and some online executions.