Fraser Gardyne graduated from design school in 1976, was a director at Designworks for ten years, has worked closely with a massive range of Kiwi businesses and, as a result of his committed service to clients and the industry, was awarded the coveted Black Pin at last year’s Best Design Awards. Here’s some of the goods, bads and uglies of 2011 as seen through his eyes. 

Moa has gained a reputation as the trickster god of the Kiwi beer fraternity with its cheeky, often controversial and, some might say, 42 Below-esque approach to marketing. Last year it gave the French the finger and became a slightly unexpected sponsor of the New Zealand Olympic team. And now it’s put the cat amongst the pigeons by kicking off a rather heated debate about what it calls ‘craftwashing’. Moa’s marketing manager Sunil Unka looks back on 2011. 

The lustrous holiday beard has now been sacrificed to the gods of work, the festive affliction known to many health professionals as the ham shakes are slowly subsiding and, despite falling into a deep post-holiday depression after returning to the coalface, we’re ready for another year of destroying lies and spreading truth. So, if you’re currently staring forlornly into space at your desk like we are, here’s to another year of excitement, joy and success/tedium, drudgery and failure. We realise the nation’s brain capacity is currently sitting at about 30 percent, so what better way to ease into 2012 than with the best product demonstration we’ve seen all year, a long-winded description about the homosexual nature of rugby, a very good, self-referential long-copy ad and a paranormal contender for Dorito’s Crash the Superbowl competition. And while we’re at it, check out the remix of Barbie Girl, which aims to kick off ‘Chopular Culture’ and inspire more lamb consumption for the upcoming Australia Day celebrations. 

Huzzah! The Great New Zealand Slow-down is upon us once again, which means this is the last StopPress newsletter of the year. And what a year it’s been. There was plenty of RWC excitement/enthralling RWC brinkmanship, an array of gripping PR disasters, a host of amazing award-winning campaigns, many terrible, non-award-winning campaigns, some good old fashioned stoushes, a fair bit of interest/controversy over some very large pitches, unrelenting consumer and media evolution and, as per usual, no shortage of ship-jumping and big recruitment announcements. And we–and you news-hungry marcomms beasts—wouldn’t want it any other way. StopPress has continued to grow steadily since it was launched in 2009 and we’ve added a few new strings to our bow this year (progress never sleeps, of course, so we’ve got a few more irons in the fire for 2012). Thanks to the team, our readers, our sponsors, our contributors, our advertisers and, yes, even our anonymous commentators. We couldn’t do it without you (well, we could, but it would be pretty average). We’ll be back on deck with our first newsletter on January 17 and inbetween sausages we’ll try and put up a few nuggets on the website. So, until next year, may your turduckens be moist this Christmas.

It’s been a massive year for Simon Coley, one of the main men behind both Powershop, which was judged the fastest growing company in New Zealand this year when it was awarded top prize at the Deloitte Fast 50, and All Good Organics, which won the sustainability gong at the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards. Here’s his pick of the 2011 bunch.

We regularly see reports in the media about brands using Maori language or images in a way that’s offensive to Maori. There was the ka mate haka on the tea towels, the ta moko designs on the faces of models posing for a French magazine, the sale of the MAORI personalised plate on TradeMe, to name but a few. 

When she’s not being a non-executive director for New Zealand Rugby League, the Cancer Society or the gang responsible for the Dunedin stadium, Jen Rolfe, the ex-director of Saatchi & Saatchi digital, is spreading the digital and direct gospel with Rolfe, the eponymous boutique agency she started last year. So, here’s lookin’ at 2011. 

Whether it be the contextual Subaru print ad after the Great Auckland snow, the cheeky billboards for Independent Liquor, the clever Adshels showing the temperature in Fiji over winter, or some of its edgier ads for Hell, Barnes, Catmur & Friends has pumped out some pretty classy work this year. Here’s what Paul Catmur made of it all.