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Stuff, things continue to occur relentlessly

Bow down before the newsy melange and marvel at its tremendous interestingness.

Tui Blond: It’s a Game Show

TV3’s semi-surprise success of 2009, 7 Days has returned for its second season with a new sponsor, Tui Blond. All concerned seem to think it’s a match made in heaven: Kiwi comedians with names like Dai Henwood, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Ben Hurley, Paul Ego, Michele A’Court and host, Jeremy Corbett also debate the week’s news and current affairs in typically politically incorrect fashion.

“The world can be a bit too serious. Tui is all about enjoying a good life, calling it how it is and enjoying a laugh,” says Tui’s Jarrod Bear. “That’s why we were keen to sponsor 7 Days, a show that seems to share the same attitude as us.”

The show, which airs at 9.30 Fridays, now features a Tui Blond ‘Let’s be honest’ segment where a news item from the week will be analysed and satirised by the cast.

Pass the Pigs

Word on the street is that a new BNZ campaign is set to be released into the wild very shortly. Some say it will be swineless. Others, namely Sugar’s Mike Knowles, say: “Not sure where you got your info from. As you might guess, I can confirm or deny nothing. But thanks for your interest.”

After trying to sneak in the back door, a particularly anonymous source had these kind lies: “I have always loved you and I’d trust you with my life, but probably best to talk to Sugar about that.”

StopPress has heard the new campaign is on the ‘when nobody was supporting New Zealand business last year, we were’ tip and it is set around whale watching in Kaikoura. And our dastardly source says it’s also pretty dull. Speaking of banks, TSB has a new campaign coming out soon, and it’s the first bit of new work from those award-hogging Kingslanders Special Group, who nabbed the account a few months back.

(And back to Sugar, StopPress has also heard that some of the creative staff there are being asked to change from contract to part time freelance and, following a little bit of industry mockery after comparing themselves to Droga5, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Taxi on its website, the arrival of Droga 5 in New Zealand seems to sent at least one of those comparisons packing from their home page).

Clio Patois

The Sweet Shop has wracked up nine craft finalist nods at the shortlist stage of the Clio Awards. Its Starship Foundation ‘Father and Son’ spot received finalist nominations in the direction, editing and music-licensed categories, while Pure Blonde ‘Dove Love’ was chosen as a finalist in the editing and direction categories and its Toyota Prius ‘Harmony’ was acknowledged in the direction and music licensed sections.

The Sweet Shop’s Fresh ‘n Fruity ‘Wrecking Balls’ made it through to the visual effects and music-licensed categories and Colenso BBDO’s New Zealand Book Council ‘Going West’ spot is in the running in the animation and sound design categories.

In the radio awards, Clemenger BBDO nabbed two finalist spots in the public service category, one for Road Safety ‘It’s Your Call’ and the other for Road Safety ‘Heaven Radio’.

Rubbed the Wrong Way

Speaking of the Sweet Shop and Colenso, the two outfits have paired up for a creepy new Fresh Up campaign that deals with the oft-uncomfortable nature of various intimate situations. Steve Ayson has just finished filming three new spots, Masseuse, Tailor and Shoe Store. The first one has just been released, the second launches in a couple of weeks and the third and final will air in September. There’s also a microsite going live early next week.

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Nagy’s off

Paul Nagy, creative director at Clemenger BBDO Wellington, will start a new role at Clemenger BBDO Sydney in June, working alongside Mike Spirkovski as joint executive creative director.

Clemenger’s chief executive and executive creative director Philip Andrew told Campaign Brief: “Paul was a rare find back in 2006. I could tell very quickly that he had that unique x-factor that only a few creative people have. I knew then that we wouldn’t have him forever, despite the superior fly fishing in New Zealand. Paul has helped us build a strong creatively-led agency here in Wellington and has been instrumental in many of our new business wins. The move to Sydney strengthens our trans-Tasman network further and I’m looking forward to making the Sydney Wellington connection an even more compelling offer for our clients.”

Andrew added that there’s been “a lot of work through the past 12 months in changing our business model to meet the needs of our clients.” And he hinted at the announcement of some key appointments in the very near future.

Insight Full

Insight Creative has appointed Amanda Lawson as an account director in the design company’s Auckland office. She joins Insight from strategic brand consultancy Landor Associates in London, having also worked in their Sydney office.

Lawson has considerable experience in the corporate, FMCG and retail sectors, on brands including Nescafe and Morrisons in the UK, the City of Melbourne rebrand 2009, Australian Wool Innovation in Australia and Panasonic in New Zealand.

“The expansion of our team reflects the growth of our business in the New Zealand and Australian markets. Amanda’s appointment serves to complement our broad offering across brand, web and corporate communications,” says Stephanie Gasperini, Chief Executive of Insight Creative.

The Land Lives

Dow Design has released the labelling for Montana’s new eco range, the ‘Living Land Series’, which aims to celebrate and draw attention to Montana’s ongoing environmental efforts.

The Living Land Series consists of four sustainably grown premium wines from the 2009 vintage – pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot gris – and they’re now available throughout New Zealand. For every bottle purchased, $1.00 is donated to the Living Land Fund, which was created by Montana to support a range of environmental initiatives.

“The Living Land name provides the hook to the story. It gives a visible face to the ecological work that Montana has been involved in since the 1990s” says Dow Design account director, Stephanie Perrett. “Our job was to create an identity, design and name for the new range that fitted with the Montana family, stayed true to the brand’s essence, personality and values, but also clearly signaled this contemporary story of sustainability.”

The bottles in the Living Land Series are lighter weight and use less glass than regular bottles, while the bottle cartons are printed on 100 percent biodegradable paper using water-based inks.

Dow Design’s creative director Donna McCort says while consumers value credibility as a crafted wine first, the green story is a significant second.

“It remains true to Montana’s core design concept but a natural-looking torn edge and the identifying green colour reinforce the eco positioning of the range. A separate lower label describes the detail of how the range contributes to conservation values.”

Smiley, happy people

Coca-Cola is sending a team of three young folk, rather cringily titled ‘Happiness Ambassadors’ to the 206 countries that Coke is sold in this year in an effort to bring the Coca-Cola Open Happiness campaign to life.

Dubbed Coca-Cola Expedition 206, the 365 day, 240,000 km journey began on 1 January and culminates with a celebration at the World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta on New Year’s eve. The three ambassadors and their adventure can be followed online at www.Expedition206.com, as well as on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and other social networking sites.

“This mash-up of social media – online photo galleries, video clips, blogs, microblogs, social networking – combined with an amazing journey, enthusiastic travellers and a theme of happiness, is a great way for us to connect with people around the world,” says Adam Brown, director, office of digital communications and social media, The Coca-Cola Company. “The widespread global adoption of social media has given us a way to deliver a year-long reality TV series, without the TV.”

The trio head to New Zealand in July and apparently it’s up to the locals to show them the sights.

No more Action

And another one bites the dust: according to the NBR, Action Media Ltd, publisher of NetGuide, Telecommunications Review, IT Brief & The Channel, has been put into liquidation. The company was founded by publisher Sean Mitchell in 2006, but last week Gerry Rea and Paul Sargison were appointed as liquidators. Rea said it was too early to establish how much is owed.

Mr Mitchell told NBR it was “business as usual” for the titles and that no staff would lose their jobs.

While Action Media has gone into liquidation, the publishing brand is not dead, with Mr Mitchell creating two new Action Media companies – Action Media Brands and Action Media Operation – over the last two months. He said the titles will continue under Action Media Operation.

Club night

The second Social Media Club meeting is taking place in the Saatchi’s building in Parnell tomorrow night. And the theme of this meatspace meeting is ‘Brand Voice: balancing personal and company tone in Social Media’. A representative from Telecom will be speaking, as will David Farrier from TV3 and Vaughn Davis from ad agency Y&R.

The event promises to provide a lively debate on the difficulties that come with balancing your own personality and that of the company you represent. Check out the Facebook page and add a few questions to the mix if you’re keen to spice up the debate. And the more the merrier.

Taking the Metro

After 11 years with Metro magazine, current editor Bevan Rapson will be leaving the role after the June issue. He will be succeeded by Simon Wilson, a senior writer on the magazine and former editor of Cuisine and Consumer magazines.

ACP Media chief executive Paul Dykzeul says the company was sorry to be losing Rapson, who has been editor since 2008.

“Bevan has decided he’s ready for a change and we wish him all the best for the future. He’s made a valuable contribution to Metro and the company. We have a terrific replacement in Simon Wilson, who has some exciting plans for the title.”

Rapson’s final edition as editor will be out on June 7. And Wilson will take over for Metro’s July-August Double Winter Issue.

It’s fair to say that Wilson’s tenure as editor of Cuisine was not a happy one, so there will be a few waiting to see how this next editorship pans out.

Gentleman, scholar, graphic designer

Designer Luke Pittar has joined The Pond creative collective. And having worked at Brave New World, Brian R Richards and Coley Porter Bell, he’s slated as a great option for any brand identity, packaging, visual interaction, design research or design leadership projects.

The self-styled ‘visual sense maker’ is particularly interested in designing interactive platforms that help audiences tell their own story, which is why he recently worked as a design researcher at Victoria University.

Check out his portfolio here.

Digital worlds

Looksy, a new social enterprise, is calling for entries and asking creative Kiwis to pick up a video camera and make a 3-4 minute film answering the question ‘what does your digital world look like’?”

Vodafone and Giapo are supporting this “wicked-never-been-done-in-history thing”, with the ultimate goal being to create the largest open sourced film ever made, ‘The Looksy’ (Here’s one). And, if there are enough entrants, one young film-maker will walk away with $10,000 cold, hard cash.

Money raised from the film will be split between the community and charitable causes. For more information on how you can get involved and submit your entry visit www.looksy.org.

Go Girls Goes On

Popular local drama Go Girls will be back for a third series after big audience growth this season (possibly from all those non-virgins), with NZ On Air dedicating $6,702,000 for a further 13 episodes.

Jeff Latch, head of TV ONE and TV2 says Go Girls has consistently dominated its timeslot on Thursday nights and believes the audience will be as delighted as he is that it will be back for another series. The South Pacific pictures Production will commence later in the year.

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