The latest agency news, campaigns and client wins (and losses) making headlines across Aotearoa.
The massive pile of magazines filled with Post-It notes stacked up on the StopPress desks (which are, of course, made of rich mahogany) indicates the April round of The Glossies is now open. And we need your votes. So get in there and choose your favourite.
They say there’s no truth in advertising. But PlaceMakers and JWT flouted that rule with their fly on the wall campaign focusing on a team of tradesmen building a house in Huntly—and the role of PlaceMakers’ expertise to ensure it all happens smoothly. And while the campaign was aimed at the trade, consumers have given it the big tick as well because ‘The Job’ has taken out Colmar Brunton’s Ad Impact Award for March.
When Kiwibank was launched in 2002, there were plenty of doubters. But, according to its new website, 804,221 customers have signed up to the bank in its first ten years and to celebrate the milestone it’s launched a new campaign featuring a few other adventurous and industrious Kiwi ten-year-olds.
Mobile advertising in New Zealand is very much in its infancy. But, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s new global mobile anthology, which provides insights into different countries’ experiences with mobile media, it has enormous potential for growth and with the significant increase in smartphone penetration in recent years to around 30 percent of all handsets and the increase in mobile internet usage, the local IAB office is predicting more media dollars being spent on this channel in the near future.
It might not have done as well as many expected at AXIS last night, but NZTA, Clemenger BBDO and The Sweet Shop’s ‘Legend’ well and truly made up for it by nabbing a very hard to win Yellow Pencil in the earned media section at the D&AD awards, the only New Zealand work to receive the nod this year. Legend also made it In-Book in the Writing for Advertising category.
In what’s being called a world first, Tequila\ is taking ANZ Bank’s fundraising campaign for the RSA into the realm of social media by allowing Kiwis to donate funds to the Poppy Day Appeal via SMS and rebadging their Twitter avatars with the familiar poppy icon in the corner.
The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) has announced the finalists in its annual industry awards, with category winners and the Supreme Award winner announced in Auckland on Friday May 11 following the close of the upcoming annual conference.
Bathed in the green hue of ’70s inspired laser body scanners and violated by the sight of Leigh Hart’s velour one piece, 750-ish adfolk ventured down to the Viaduct Events Centre last night to watch Colenso BBDO’s Doggelganger campaign for Pedigree repeat Yellow Chocolate’s performance last year by taking the Grand, Titanium and Interactive AXIS. But, as is usually the case, the awards weren’t without some controversy.
The rumour’s been doing the rounds for a good while, but it seems Fairfax is soon to take a leaf out of TVNZ’s book by decreasing its agency commission from 20 to ten percent.
The TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards turn 21 this year. And like all good 21-year-olds, it’s received an oversized key, downed a yardie, taken a good hard look at itself and emerged into adulthood with a snazzy new ‘Everything Marketing’ brand and eight new categories.
Aegis recently announced its official arrival on the local scene after the merging of Carat and Mitchells. And now it’s announced the local launch of bespoke consumer study, the Consumer Connection System (CCS), which provides insights into how consumers choose and use media in an effort to better connect them with brands.
Last month at the Grande Orca ceremony, MC Mike Hosking talked about how popular he was and, inbetween, announced some changes to the Radio Bureau’s monthly competition. But why read boring words when you could watch Leigh Hart and special guests Josh Lancaster and Jamie Hitchcock explain them (occasionally in musical form).
The sponsors of the Olympic Games are gearing up for action and, with 100 days to go until the bulbous one-eyed London mascots cut the ribbon, Procter & Gamble has launched its biggest campaign ever, a global ‘Thank You Mum’ campaign to celebrate the mums behind the athletes.
Mmmm, tea. Mmmm, vodka. Mmmm, Absolut Vodka Wild Tea. We like giving away booze and Asbolut has given us a bottle of its newest variety, which has a “rich, fresh aroma with hints of tea, elderflower, red apples and citrus”, “dark tones and richness” and “a rich fruity taste with natural sweetness and smoothness” don’t you know. So tell us what flavour should be next on Absolut’s list and we’ll send a bottle to the most interesting effort. And as per, you must be over 18 to enter.
Who’s it for: HRV by Y&R Auckland and Curious Film
Why we like it: Comparing the quality of New Zealand with the poor quality of New Zealand’s housing stock is smart idea and offers a nice combination of pride and shame. Beautifully shot, a great song and …
Following a three-way competitive pitch, bcg2 has won the Fletcher Aluminium consumer and commercial account, one of more than a dozen new business wins for the ‘international indie’ in the past 12 months.
The ad business regularly supports charities with pro-bono work. But Hamilton agency Bettle and Associates has taken that to another level by announcing part of its business will be run as as a not-for-profit model.
Trade Aid has long been fighting for the rights of producers and now it’s aiming to bring them closer to consumers this month with the help of instore touch screens.
New Zealanders are well accustomed to seeing ads extolling the virtues of our country—and our character. And while the first piece of work for HRV by Y&R certainly shows its fair share of majestic landscapes and quintessentially Kiwi scenarios, there’s a darker, more honest side to the new campaign that references the fact the quality of our housing stock leaves a lot to be desired and aims “to reinvent the New Zealand home invironment”.
Not too long ago, Volkswagen was seen by Kiwis as a brand that was too expensive, too Germanic and too standoffish. So the European car maker set about changing that and, with the help of DDB NZ, it’s been making some serious inroads into the Kiwi market, with the 2011 results achieving records for both its passenger and commercial vehicles. Now the pair are hoping to continue the upward trajectory with a new series of ‘the same, but different’ TVCs running in the pre-weather spot on ONE News.
1-day.co.nz pulled out of the daily deal services market last year claiming it was an unsustainable business model. But “New Zealand’s largest daily deals site” hopes to ramp up the competition in the grocery sector with the launch of Grocery Grab.
The TBWA\ Group launched its ‘Good Energy’ campaign featuring Tiki Taane for Mercury Energy a few months back. And its digital arm Tequila\ has kept things moving with a simple social experiment to gauge just how helpful Kiwis really are.
With a multitude of ads vying for our attention in meatspace, the onus has well and truly been put on agencies and media owners to become more creative if they hope to rise above the rabble. We’ve seen sports themed bus stops, exploding billboards, temperature gauges and a number of other interesting ideas outside. And Clemenger BBDO has taken it even further by brewing a beer inside an Adshel to promote the Wellington in a Pint initiative.
Skittles has been successfully playing the weird card in its ads for a few years now, Old Spice found huge success with the comical masculinity of Isiah Mustafa, and the viral power of Powerthirst has spawned more than a few homages in adland. Now there’s Moro’s new ‘Fistful of Awesome’ campaign by DDB, starring a man who can only be described as a blonde, bemulleted, moustachioed, deep voiced Asian Chuck Norris-a-like showing off his physical prowess in an extremely over-the-top fashion.
DIY has become a fixture of recent Mitre 10 campaigns and it will again take centre stage in what the country’s largest home improvement retailer is calling a “market-first” integrated campaign by DraftFCB called Easy As that incorporates TVCs, a website, in-store programmes, print, mobile and a YouTube channel.
DraftFCB’s What’s My Number? campaign for the Electricity Authority won big at the RSVP and Nexus Awards recently and it’s added to what could be a big haul this year by taking out the 2011 Yahoo! New Zealand Digital Strategy Award in Auckland last night.
Since it was formed in 2003 and was quickly noticed for its stellar work on 42 Below, Consortium has been an ad agency happy to fly under the radar and steer clear of the media. But after finding some renewed vigour for the ad business and deciding to refocus his energies on the agency he founded, Paul Shale has decided to pin his more strategic colours to the mast by announcing a few changes, including the addition of former director of home at Telecom and director of Yahoo!Xtra Ralph Brayham as a 50 percent shareholder and director.
Adshel recently gave Nick Vile the call-up to run the more localised ship and it’s also announced two new additions to the local family, with Jo Caira joining as production manager and Emma Barnes joining as marketing manager.
.99’s visual interpretation of getting consumers glued to products on Lasoo in NZ Marketing magazine found favour with StopPress voters, taking a 24 percent share of the 895 votes to win the March/April round of The Glossies.
Tasti Products Ltd is celebrating 80 years of making bars and baking bits this year and to make sure it’s looking its best for the important milestone it has shouted itself a whole new brand wardrobe and appointed Contagion as its creative partner.
The big news from last week was that ASB decided to move from Droga5 to Saatchi & Saatchi, bringing an end to ongoing speculation that relationship was on the ropes. And there’s a bit more reshuffling to announce, with The Research Agency winning ASB’s advertising and brand tracking research programme in a non-competitive pitch from the incumbent Colmar Brunton.
An old Minties ad featured in the Otago Daily Times
The New Zealand ad landscape is littered with interesting stories (and interesting storytellers). But the industry’s institutional memory often leaves a lot to be desired. So, in an effort to remedy that, Idealog editor and ex-NBR AdMedia reporter Hazel Phllips is currently writing a book charting the history of New Zealand advertising. The book will be published by Penguin next year and Phillips (email her here) is looking for interviews and information from people who worked in advertising and marketing back in the mists of time. She’s also looking to make contact with the marketing departments of major New Zealand brands that have iconic campaigns in their archives and would be willing to have the imagery used in the book or have information about the timelines of campaigns and their brands’ general history. To grease the wheels of history—and possibly dredge up a few classic local ads of yore—we have a D&AD 11 book to give away, so add your favorite New Zealand ad to the comment wall and it could be yours.
Silver Fern Farms has Annabel Langbein, Regal Salmon has Masterchef winner Nadia Lim, and New Zealand Pork and OgilvyAction have followed suit with a campaign that plays on the appeal of chef Simon Gault.
The judges have done the hard yards sorting the wheat from the media chaff and the finalists of the CAANZ Media Awards have now been announced, with OMD and SparkPHD leading the pack on 20 nods each.
When SparkPHD swapped BNZ for ANZ after a regional realignment in February, BNZ went hunting for a replacement. And, after announcing Colenso as its new creative agency, it has rounded out the new family by naming Mediacom as its media planning and buying agency.
In its first new work since Clemenger BBDO bolstered its social marketing portfolio by winning its creative account late last year, Quitline is launching a major new TV, outdoor and online campaign tonight.
Following a three-way pitch, the Wellington agency was appointed to position Quitline as the most …