1. Favourite local campaign that isn’t yours
The Lynx New Zealand campaign with Julian Dennison. Funny. Don’t know who made it.
2. Favourite campaign that is yours
Hard choice between Mercury’s ‘Evie’, Mitre 10’s ‘Kong’, and VTNZ’s ‘Road Commander’. ‘Road Commander’ edges ahead. And his best stories haven’t aired yet. (Unashamed plug for television-driven brand-building.)
3. Favourite international campaign
‘It’s a Tide ad’ from the Superbowl. Turning everyone’s ad into your ad – that’s next level creative. Effective, funny, and includes no token social cause.
4. Least favourite campaign
The Youtube pre-roll telling me about LinkedIn’s insight service. I’ve literally had nothing but that same boring ad for three weeks now. Where is programmatic when you need it? I should be getting ads about cycling, wine and that other really weird thing I keep looking up.
5. Your own biggest success
VTNZ’s ‘We’re on your side’. (I also set a Strava daily record for the NW cycleway. For one 250m segment. For the 55+ age group. Held it for about two hours.)
6. Most significant launch/innovation/thing of the year
The AT car parking app makes parking and paying easier, faster and cheaper. And it’s oh so simple.
7. What should be un-invented?
Drones for personal use.
8. Lamest trend
Attaching irrelevant social causes to a brand in order to win a creative award.
9. Best brands
Netflix. A rare brand with which, so far, I associate only positive feelings.
10. Best stoush
So many to talk about, and so few I should talk about, having been directly involved in a couple ourselves. Mike Hosking vs bicycles is one I really don’t get. Why can’t he understand that each bike = one less car on the road = better for drivers (him), and New Zealand in general?
11. Heroes
Mark Ritson for consistently pointing out the obvious, with evidence and swearing.
12. Villains
Gary Vaynerchuk. Massive influence based on statistical anomaly.
13. What died in 2018?
The belief that TV was dead.
14. What’s the biggest mistake marketers will make in 2019?
Designing customer experiences and advertising strategy based on their own behaviour. Marketing and advertising people aren’t normal.
15. How far in our future do you think The Handmaid’s Tale is?
Depends whether Trump is re-elected.
