For those of you who have longed to put yourselves in the shoes of a criminal defence lawyer, now you can, in the digital world at least. TV2 has launched a new campaign in the form of an online game to promote its show How to Get Away with Murder, through the release of a murder mystery game that casts the player as part of a criminal defence team fighting to clear a client’s name.
As revealed by the recent stats released by TubeMogul, programmatic ad-buying is growing very quickly. But, as with anything new, the willingness of advertisers to adopt this approach has been slower than it could’ve been due to the fact that it seems quite complicated. So, in an effort to demystify programmatic ad buying and thereby encourage more media agencies and marketers to adopt it, Chango has released a series of videos that address some of the questions that have been raised by those in the industry.
According to Spark Home, Mobile and Business chief executive Chris Quin, fewer than 40 percent of small businesses have a website. And of those that do, only a quarter have a website that’s mobile responsive. So, in an effort to remedy this problem, Spark has released new promotion that offers business customers 24 months’ access to a Putti mobile-responsive website.
Despite approaching his 80th birthday, contemporary pop artist Billy Apple (something of a human brand) hasn’t lost the desire to create. And now, in collaboration with Saatchi’s design director Derek Lockwood, he has released a Billy Apple-branded cider.
Sometimes unfortunate or unforseen circumstances arise, which means that brands, for better or for worse, need to change their names. We thought we’d look at a few examples closer to home and further afield.
The travel industry has been one of the sectors most affected by the rise of e-commerce, with customers increasingly doing their booking of flights, hotels, trips, rental cars and transfers online. Expedia, the world’s largest online travel site in terms of booking volumes, is at the forefront of that shift and, as part of its ‘Out There Starts Here’ campaign, it’s created a number of great ads for the New Zealand and Australian market. Now it’s launched another one that sees the travel dreams of several characters become a reality.
Industry happenings at TRB, MediaWorks, SenateSHJ, Pead PR and Frucor Beverages.
Z Energy has confirmed to StopPress that its creative account is currently undergoing a review process, which includes a pitch involving several parties.
Last year, Toyota used its sponsorship deal with One Weather in a creative way by getting the pie-loving protagonist from its Hilux advertising to reprise his role, introduce the daily report and somehow tie it in to the vehicle. Now, following Ford’s Ranger sales victory in the ute category last year, the first time in 32 years the Hilux hasn’t been atop the podium, it’s created its own hirsute weatherman to rub it in.
Spark, nee Telecom’s, Giganaire was a pretty polarising campaign, as most ads involving rapping generally are. And Pak n Save’s comical frontman has riffed on that in his inimitable style for its latest promotion by asking punters if they will become the next ‘Giftcardionaire’.
The long-anticipated release of Sky’s subscription video on-demand (SVOD) service has been accompanied by a TVC that positions the offering as a form of escapism.
Now, if we had seen an ad, say 10 years ago that said “don’t selfie and drive” no one would have had a clue what that was about. But with new technology (and front-facing cameras) comes new dangers, and now Volkswagen has released a campaign which aims to stop drivers taking selfies while on the road.
2014 was a good year for True, with its business growing to four times that of the previous year after developing new working relationships with Vodafone, ANZ (including the current Dream Big campaign), Four Square and Mission Estate Wineries. And now it’s added another client: AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand.
ZenithOptimedia has released its latest consumer insights report containing its predicted top ten trends for 2015, with a main overall trend appearing to be the use of technology to create powerful, personalised experiences for consumers.
As part of its new campaign released over the weekend via television and social media, former market leader in premium bread, Bürgen teamed up with Colenso BBDO and challenged current market leader Vogel’s to a taste-off, asking consumers to compare the two breads.
The Blackcaps’ decimation of England on Friday was a joy for many Kiwis to behold. Rebel Sport took the opportunity to congratulate the lads on the win with a print ad that ran on Saturday. And no words were needed to convey the sense of smugness.
American comedy Parks and Recreation, set in the fictional town of Pawnee, has now released a fictional burger joint commercial for a fictional burger joint – Paunch Burger, which we’re sure die hard fans will recognise.
In celebration of Hawaiian Airline’s upcoming second anniversary on the New Zealand market, a secretive pair of New Zealand street artists, who work under the name BMD, were commissioned to paint one of the airline’s ground service trucks in their distinctive style.
Media agencies are increasingly using editorial tricks to spread their clients’ advertising messages. So is native advertising a con? Alex Lawson doesn’t think so.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
Every time the quarterly figures are released and again show the downward trend of the magazine industry, it’s difficult to be optimistic, but looking at the journalism that pervades the pages of many of the publications in circulation in New Zealand today serves as reminder that the current generation of journalists still has the quality required to carry the canon of journalistic writing forward. That being said, the continued fragmentation of media has seen readers not relying solely magazines or newspapers to read the articles that interest them—and this has of course led to decline in the readership and circulation figures provided by Nielsen and ABC, respectively.
DDB launched an in-house production unit, appropriately called ‘Maker’, about six months ago and says its ability to quickly create digital content for its clients is resulting in increasing demand.
According to Yellow’s Business Confidence Survey of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in New Zealand, 34 percent of business owners regarded digital marketing as an essential area to upskill in, placing it only behind marketing and IT and technology (both on 41 percent).
From Paul the octopus, to Paulo the octopus, to Futnik the pig, to Citta the elephant to Nicholas the llama to our own Richie McCow, supposedly psychic animals predicting the outcome of sports games is like catnip to media. And the Herald has introduced a new soothsaying creature to the list, with Cricket the cricket so far nailing three out of four games in the Cricket World Cup.
Warehouse Stationery has released a new campaign with an emphasis on its ability to “connect” customers, focusing on the technological side of the business as opposed to the paper and pens.
New Zealand menswear brand Hallensteins captured a fair bit of attention with its last ad, which was shot on the Bonneville Salt flats in Utah and featured motocross star Carey Hart. And it’s headed overseas once again for another impressive spot to coincide with the launch of its winter collection, this time teaming up with The Script lead singer Danny O’Donoghue and heading to Cuba.
It’s no secret that the fans are integral to the success of any modern sports team. If bums don’t fill the seats, then profits dwindle. If sponsors don’t have an audience, then they won’t tag their names onto the shirts. And if there are no voices being screamed hoarse in the stadium, then a home advantage really makes no difference at all. So, in its first campaign for the Vodafone Warriors since taking over the account, Special Group has teamed up with production company 8com to produce a new spot that puts the fans at the centre of the team.
Storage company National Mini Storage has for quite some time now been borrowing the comedic talents of Leigh Hart to convince Kiwis that storage might be a viable solution to their clutter. And in a new, completely ridiculous spot, the bald funny man advises that house-selling Kiwis with weirder interests might benefit from storing a few of their more unsightly items away.
379 entries across 75 categories have made it through to the finals of the Axis Awards, with FCB leading the way on 54, followed by Colenso BBDO with 49 and DDB with 47. Special Group has 31 finalists and Saatchi & Saatchi rounded out the top five with 26 finalists.
