Early this year, the MPA announced that it was making some big changes to its annual awards, with a new name, a few new categories and a new judging process. Those changes have led to an almost 40 percent increase in entry numbers and as far as the finalists go, Bauer is on top with 46, followed by Tangible Media with 25, Fairfax with 19 and Kowhai Media with 10.
At sporadic intervals between the 1980s to the early 2000s, the Care Bears, a multi-coloured collection of pint-sized heroes, appeared on television entertaining kids with their various adventures against the forces of evil. Powered by a range of super powers indicated by the emblems emblazoned across their chests, the Care Bears dedicated their days to increasing the levels of care in the world. And, now, three years after the Care Bears last made a TV appearance, tissue brand Earthcare has introduced its own variation of a bear that can’t help but care, perhaps a little too much. But rather than following the cute footsteps of the Care Bears, Earthcare has opted for a slightly more intimidating iteration of a do-gooder bear.
Michael Goldthorpe discusses the evolution/his changing understanding of direct marketing, otherwise known as DM, from when he was a youngster when those two capitalised letters meant one thing: Danger Mouse. And now, as an adult where technology has changed the game completely, where direct marketing is no longer just a targeted letter sent to your mailbox and finally, he discusses whether the fundamentals have really changed all that much.
In a television age dominated by reality cooking shows like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules, no doubt many of us feel we need to step up our game in the kitchen, and make sure each dish has at least one food source which is impossible to pronounce or perhaps includes kale from a remote region of New Zealand which has grown to the sound of children’s laughter and been watered only with water collected from a luscious mountain stream, or some chia seeds, or maybe some salted caramel topped with cream churned by the feet of baby ducks. But considering most of us don’t have the time or money to regularly produce artisan cuisines, sometimes we just want to whip up something quick, something we know improves the taste of our meal and something that won’t make us recoil from the state of our bank balances, like some ready-made gravy paste by Maggi.
Longtime Daily Show host Jon Stewart bowed out today after 16 years. And the tributes flowed. Here are a few of the best.
Industry happenings at TRA, Dot Loves Data, Adshel, Comvita, Intelligent Ink, Better by Design and Asia Pacific Digital.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
From the moment Vodafone’s Piggy Sue stepped in to replace James Rolleston for Vodafone, there was a sense that the ad would be popular. It did, after all, feature an adorable piglet that was remarkably puppy-like in its behaviour. And so it has proven, with the ad racking up over 300,000 views online and also getting the most votes in the People’s Choice division in this year’s MediaWorks/StopPress TVC of the Year competition. PLUS: see how many votes each of the finalists received.
The undeniably adorable Piggy Sue has returned to screens once again in a continuation of Vodafone’s brand campaign developed by FCB, this time she’s been recruited as a flanker.
Two-way radio company Tait Communications has been putting its products through hell. The devices have been dropped 100 metres from a drone, crushed by a 52-tonne tank, washed in a dishwasher, set on fire, punched repeatedly by a boxer and, most recently, smashed with a golf club. So why exactly is the Christchurch-based company putting its products through a veritable catalogue of medieval torture techniques?
The persuasive arts are often jokingly referred to as the colouring-in department. But the appeal is obviously not limited to marketers and agency folk, because adult colouring books are going gangbusters in New Zealand and around the world.
Ogilvy & Mather took out the July Newspaper Ad of the Month award for its topical Rebel Sport ad ‘National Pride’, scooping up $500 for the win.
Based on the latest out of Nielsen, Nick Butler reckons Kiwi marketers will soon be targeting 45-year-old Cantonese-speaking Polynesians living in Auckland who are looking after a toddler at the gym while watching a video on their mobile about which organic takeaways are the best match for the authentic Basque cider they bought online. Possibly.
At the beginning of June, Gregg’s released a high-energy brand ad that pulled its disparate product strings together. It was an explosion of colour that gave a nod to the brand’s cheeky heritage by showing a range of mischievous Kiwi characters using the products in their own unique way. And with each segment playing out to to an infectious backtrack, the ad was an audio-visual feast that made jelly, coffee, spices, hot chocolate and food pastes look like party essentials. The creative efforts of FCB and the production skills of Flying Fish have now caught the attention of the team at Colmar Brunton, who have awarded the spot the Ad Impact award for June.
Massey University graduate Jason Khoo has taken out first place in the New Zealand leg of the 15th James Dyson Awards with his tree house platform called Tree Mount, designed to encourage Kiwi families to spend more time together and get back to nature.
Shortly after its inception, YouTube became the go-to platform for watching and uploading videos, so brands begun uploading content to it to attract consumers. But in recent times Facebook has nudged its way in, placing an increased focus on the exposure of its video content to attempt to take a slice of YouTube’s marketing pie (or the whole pie if it can manage it). Here’s a look at Facebook video compared to YouTube, including some agency insights into the use of the two platforms for video sharing.
Belting out La Bamba is practically a rite of passage in this country. But what does it all mean? Thankfully Google is here to help non Spanish speakers.
Peugeot’s latest TV ad may seem run of the mill. That is until they promise ‘an online experience you’ll never forget’. Given advertisers are known for their hyperbolic tendencies, StopPress didn’t have high hopes of Peugeot living up to its claim. However, upon arrival at Pure 308 website, we were pleasantly surprised by an eye-catching online execution. PLUS: a look at few other slick online efforts.
Humans are becoming increasingly attached to their smartphones and these days they’re often seen as lifelines—sometimes quite literally. Here’s how technology is trying to keep us safe.
The willingness of Kiwis to adopt new technology means that major publishers have to ensure that their online and mobile interfaces continue to offer a suitable user experience for readers. Failure to do so can lead to frustration that could drive readers to get their news fix on other sites. And given the importance of staying in touch with its readership’s consumption methods, Fairfax recently launched the third version of its Stuff app. PLUS: a look at why apps are important for news publishers.
The online numbers—both in terms of usage and revenue—keep going up. But that’s being driven by the addition of devices, not the addition of people, says Nielsen’s Tony Boyte. And it’s important to understand how those people behave and what content they consume.
John Campbell is set to take up a position as the drivetime host on Radio New Zealand and it’s likely good news for the broadcaster’s growing digital audience as it plans to use Campbell to front a revamped show featuring streamed video and a podcast.
Yahoo’s latest messenger app replaces audio with text messaging for a Skype-meets-TXT-with-the-sound-off platform that might just revolutionise the way we use our phones.
We’re fans of brands that get creative in an effort to hijack the attention generated by major events they don’t actually sponsor, whether it’s the African airline that found a way to get Sepp Blatter to endorse it, Nike’s focus on other Londons during the Olympics or Calendar Girls flying a plane above Eden Park advertising its services as Martin Guptill smashed a six after a Mitchell Johnson no-ball in the Cricket World Cup. Steinlager is winning that battle at the moment with its ‘We Believe’ campaign managing to reference the upcoming Large Sporting Event without actually mentioning it. And Samsung is also embracing euphemisms for one of its promotions.
According to Pure SEO founder Richard Conway there are a few shady SEO agencies out there that businesses should be wary of. He provides a list of things to look out for to show when the alarm bells should be ringing.
Growth HQ founder James Kemp says that part of the reason why he likes marketing automation is because he’s lazy. And it comes as an added bonus that it has also generated some favourable results for his business.
For those Back to the Future fans who have always wanted to have a hoon on a hoverboard, your day could be soon. Lexus has just launched one (for real!).
We all have that one thing that we are especially good at, or that one meal that we make so well we re-make it again and again instead of learning something new, and that’s what F. Whitlock & Sons has tapped into with its new campaign targeting men via Us&Co for its Killer Sauce, which includes an online ad with an interactive ending.
Old Spice and Wieden + Kennedy have created a comic-styled story through Instagram where players get to choose their own alternate endings using the platform’s tagging function.
For the relaunch of the McRib, Mcdonald’s went down a slightly crazy path by featuring a passionate individual dancing as a bucket of thick sauce was emptied out on his head. While the clip was unappetiwing at best and downright disturbing at worst, it was memorable and a definite improvement on the usual fast-food launch approach of showcasing carefully constructed burgers in the ideal light from the best possible angle. McDonald’s clearly sees value in the quirkiness, because the brand has now followed on from the McRib launch with an equally outrageous (and messy) spot that features a human guinea pig comparing the newly launched butter chicken Georgie Pie to its pastry-free alternative.