The latest agency news, campaigns and client wins (and losses) making headlines across Aotearoa.
Three Kiwi submissions have been shortlisted in the PR category at the 2014 Cannes Lions. Saatchi & Saatchi leads the charge with two beer-related nominations, while DDB is in contention for creative executed for animal rights.
Cavalier Bremworth’s Wool-I-am originally appeared in a series that was launched almost two years ago and espoused the benefits of wool carpets over synthetic. This time the New Zealand carpet maker’s campaign, once again via Federation, focuses on the company’s unique ability to manage the quality of its wool carpet right through from the farm to the tufting plant in Auckland, to the customer’s floor, with its sheep mascot posing in Napier, having a cappuccino in Auckland and even driving a truck.
The Onion is America’s Finest News Source—and the world’s finest source of satire. And it’s taken aim at the prevalence of listicles, quizzes, surveys, you’ll-never-believe-what-happens-next headlines and other assorted clickbait featured on websites like Buzzfeed and Upworthy with ClickHole.
No? Because Nikki Mandow, the editor of Idealog magazine went to a fair few. She kindly bought in a few of the posters that served as invites for us to have a look at.
Lion has put its digital business up for pitch, with the incumbent DAN, Gladeye and Young & Shand/Tailor thought to be in the running.
Clemenger BBDO has benefitted from the capitulation of M&C Saatchi in this market, winning Rabobank and taking over as the interim agency for NZ Police. Updated with comments from NZ Police.
David Farrier takes a look at what Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement have done to spread the hype about their upcoming vampire satire, What we do in the Shadows.
In 2013, the ASA received 792 complaints levelled at 598 advertisements that Kiwis found offensive, misleading or irresponsible. 313 of these complaints were found to have no grounds to proceed while 285 were were referred to the Complaints Board. In total 60 percent of the ads that reached the Complaints Board were either settled or upheld. Here’s a rundown of the 10 ads that angered the highest number of Kiwis last year.
The dog vs. cat debate is a classic, right up there with Ford vs. Holden, north vs. south and science vs. religion. And Purina is asking Kiwis pet owners to take sides.
London traffic became even more congested recently as 12,000 taxi drivers staged a protest by blockading various streets throughout the English capital. Their dissatisfaction finds its genesis in the expansion of Uber, an app that allows potential passengers to connect with nearby taxi drivers. We chatted to Roger Heale, the executive director of the the New Zealand Taxi Federation, about the potential of the same happening here. Updated with comments from Uber.
Brother Design is lending its award-winning design skills to a good cause in a new campaign for not-for-profit organisation Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) by launching a print campaign to raise awareness about ‘Feel Better’ month, which runs over the course of July. LGFB focuses on improving the self-esteems of cancer sufferers by teaching them make-up techniques in an effort to help them overcome the taxing toll that treatments take on the body. The make-up training sessions are held periodically at workshops, which cancer suffers can register for via the LGFB website.
As a story in Adweek noted recently, “purpose transcends business and product (the what) and delivers on human principles (the why).” A lot of companies tend to tack this purpose on to the marketing department, or make it part of a corporate social responsibility programme. But All Good Organics, as the name implies, has goodness running through its veins and its efforts have been rewarded with a global award as the fairest trader of them all, beating out 27,000 products from 120 countries that carry the Fairtrade mark.
Interactive and mobile advertising spend continued its upward trajectory by growing 22 percent from last year, according to IAB’s Q1 results. Although the organisation didn’t release a full report for this quarter, outgoing chief executive Alisa Higgins says that the total interactive and mobile spend was $120.2 million, up from last year’s $99.2 million.
When Kiwi entrepreneur Derek Handley advertised for a new right hand human, his campaign The Shoulder Tap had more than 1000 applicants from more than 30 countries – from billion-dollar hedge fund managers to prison managers to activists. Yes, Handley’s reputation and vision pulled for sure, but there was also some clever Kiwi technology behind the campaign.
For some consumers, auto-play video is an annoyance that has them searching for the x or mute buttons. For many publishers, it’s a good way to tap into the rise of online video, which, according to the IAB’s numbers for the last quarter, has increased its share in New Zealand from 12 percent to 17 percent YoY (with a total of $120 million last quarter, that equates to around $20 million). And APN is aiming to get a bigger slice of that pie with the launch of In-Read video, a new advertising unit that shows video within its editorial environments.
US-based meat product manufacturer Oscar Mayer has released its first interactive mobile app ‘Wienermobile’ to grab consumers’ digital attention ahead of the Labour Day holiday. While the app includes various standard features—such as picture uploading and social media accessibility—it also features a pair of interactive games that users can participate in.
In days gone by, the only thing a plastic beer bottle at the rugby was good for was throwing in the air during a Mexican wave (and making your beer warm). But Steinlager and DDB have found a way to make the bottle more useful with a social media campaign called #AllBlackSnap that’s running during the three test series against England.
To some degree banks have always been publishers, producing voluminous pamphlets and documents relating to their accounts, interest rates and credit card deals. And while this has served the utilitarian purpose of providing information to both current and potential clients, it has always been a bit vapid in the story-telling department. So, in an effort to fill the narrative-shaped hole in its offering, ANZ has launched BlueNotes, a digital publishing site updated daily with news stories directly relevant to the bank and the financial industry.
Every brand and his dog is trying to get in on the action for the Football World Cup. And here are a few more ads from Twitter, GoPro and Adidas.
Ogilvy Beijing recently terrified a cinema of moviegoers with a clever campaign that showed how multi-screen technology can be used to relay an idea. After the audience took their seats, the pre-roll advertisements started playing on the screen. And what at first seems like a standard car ad quickly shifts into something quite different when all those sitting in the cinema receive text messages. While everyone is looking down at their phones, the car that was casually driving along the road suddenly careens off the road and smashes into a tree.
Over the last few months, Auckland Zoo has been putting its colourful and varied range of tenants to work by having them feature in a series of YouTube videos designed to draw attention to the attraction in the Super City. Rainger & Rolfe, the agency behind the on-going digital campaign, has held the Auckland Zoo account since 2011 (the account was originally held by Rolfe Limited and then moved across after the merger with Rainger Connect).
The latest Forest & Bird fundraising print campaign by Ogilvy & Mather New Zealand hopes to get readers physically reaching into their wallets by asking them to hold up a $5 note and complete the picture of the Campbell Island flora and fauna.
Brands are increasingly turning their noses up at traditional forms of advertising in favour of publishing content that doesn’t just interrupt the audience but also engages with it. Ogilvy’s digital group head and creative director Greg Whitham takes a look at what works, what doesn’t work and what brands need to do to ensure that their publishing efforts drive results.
With the 2014 FIFA World Cup just around the corner, brands are doing their best to link with this prestigious event any way they can. Nike has just done it again with their latest spot titled “The Last Game”.
For a large number of Kiwis, settling in for some couch time on Friday night is a weekly ritual. And MediaWorks is aiming to draw attention to the return of 7 Days and Jono & Ben at 10 this Friday with some online content and other fun and games.
Tux, TVNZ and Greenpeace raise their bats and ackowledge the crowd this week.
In an effort to share the festivities with the Kiwis and expats who aren’t fortunate enough to be in Brazil for the World Cup, TVNZ’s Blacksand has set up an ad-hoc carnival in Auckland. Placing the seemingly innocuous duo of a mini-goal and a football alongside a ‘kick me’ sign, the Blacksand team waited out of sight, with their cameras ready, for any passersby to take the bait. Those who did kick the ball into the net were then caught off gaurd by an impromptu carnival made up of football players, samba dancers, capoeira performers and fans from all over the world.
As Jetstar’s last campaign cleverly showed, ‘no-one likes delays, but everyone loves free flights’. And it’s continued down that road to celebrate five years of flying in New Zealand by creating a game of international Pass the Parcel.
There’s a fair bit of excitement over Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s What We do in the Shadows, which opens on June 19. And Wellington, a renowned film-friendly city, is getting behind it with a vampirical addition to its ‘blown away’ sign. PLUS: ‘The vampire’s guide to Vellington’.
Following on from last year’s elaborate faux real estate campaign for Agent Anna’s first season, TVNZ’s in-house agency Blacksand has again tapped into the fake reality theme for the promotion of the dramedy’s second season. Shot in an actual rental home, the stunt features Robyn Malcolm in character as klutzy Anna Kingston showing real visitors—and potential tenants—around a home, which has been set up with a variety of booby traps that result in some awkward interactions.
After a competitive pitch, Post Creative has been brought on to ‘engineer influence’ for the Green Party’s upcoming election campaign. PLUS: which agencies are working with the other major parties?
On 12 May, Radio New Zealand’s chief executive Paul Thompson delivered a speech at the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Conference held in Glasgow—and his thoughts on the industry stood in stark contrast to the optimism that has been voiced by the respective PR teams of the commercial stations. From the first line of the speech, which is currently available on the Radio New Zealand website, it’s clear that Thompson is bracing himself for a significant challenge in the role that he only stepped into nine months ago.
After around 18 years of fusing art with commerce, events and media company Madant has morphed into Uno Loco. And with clients increasingly looking to create experiences, not just ads, and with events companies increasingly dabbling in other areas, the planets appear to be in alignment for this successful yet under-the-radar business.
In an effort to encourage Kiwi men to open up, Men’s Health Week (which runs from 9 to 15 June) was launched late last night via a cheeky marketing campaign by M&C Saatchi. The ‘Speak Up’ campaign will see a series of speech bubbles being attached to existing advertisements in the Auckland CBD, Karangahape Road, Newmarket, Grey Lynn and Ponsonby—all areas that have been pinpointed as areas of concern.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
Today’s consumers are fickle. It’s becoming harder to find loyal customers who won’t jump ship at the sight of a sweeter deal. They demand more for less, and are more willing than ever to shop around rather than sticking with a ‘preferred’ brand or provider. The telco industry knows this better than most. And you can find out how some of the country’s biggest players are dealing with it, differentiating themselves and inspiring customer loyalty and at the MA’s next Knowledge Bites event on Tuesday.