Ah, new stuff. How we love the way you always bring a little bit of excitement to our dull, repetitive, meaningless lives. Of course, new stuff is a big part of the marcomms industry, so what better way to disseminate some of this newness than by making a gigantic melange.
The new 2degreees Christmas ad campaign for its even more magicker top ups and cheap calls was released this week. And Mr Darby’s strange, humorous little ditties, which includes electric shocks from a large metallic star and the throwing of darts at a besuited man with a globe on his head are, not surprisingly, in keeping with the quirky approach of the company’s first round of ads.
DDB have also taken a quirky approach to the new McDonald’s Value Picks campaign. The new ads feature on TV, radio and adshels and publicise the six $3 items on the menu. But it also shows some of the items that didn’t quite make the cut, like the 3D yacht/apple pie that was put on a billboard in central Auckland this week.
It’s the 80th anniversary of DB Breweries this year and the nostalgia is flowing – quite literally, tsk tsk. This morning a man arrived in the office with a clinking box. It was music to our parched ears, if ears can in fact be parched. The box contained 12 bottles of the famed Waitemata Sparkling Ale and the StopPress team took a trip into the mists of time and instantly forgot why the brewery stopped making it in the first place. Nostalgia is a powerful force.
“This special beer was first made in 1931 but we no longer produce it. We decided to bring it back to 
celebrate our 80th anniversary in the form of our annual Christmas beer gift for friends of DB,” DB communications manager Jo Jalfon says.
Speaking of nostalgia, 
Reelfilm is a nifty wee service that combines the old with the new. Set up by Auckland musician, photographer and behind-the-scenes 95bFM personality Josh Hetherington, who has a passion for Super 8 film, the new enterprise is devoted to filming weddings, special occasions and other deserving events on Super 8, creating a “romantic, nostalgic and cinematic” experience.
Also, whisky (or even whiskey) connoisseurs should keep an eye out for the charity auction of a rare vintage single malt Scotch on Monday night if they’re looking to give that special someone that special something.
Just 520 bottles of the Glenfiddich Vintage Reserve 1975, which retails for more than £480 in the UK, were ever bottled, and only one of these will be available for purchase in New Zealand. The bottle will be auctioned off by Webb’s at its annual Christmas wine auction on 7 December, with all proceeds going to New Zealand Red Cross.
Lion Nathan luxury spirits ambassador (job title of the week) Frankie Walker says: “We’re pleased to be able to put this one-of-a-kind bottle up for grabs for New Zealand’s most passionate whisky fans and expect to see a bit of a bidding frenzy – not only because it’s a chance to own a piece of history, but it’s also raising funds for a very worthy organisation, New Zealand Red Cross … “It’s also particularly appropriate for Christmas time, being as the first spirit flowed from the Glenfiddich stills on Christmas Day, 1887.”
