Goodbye Pork Pie is to Mini in New Zealand as The Italian Job is to Mini in Europe. So, to drum up some interest in the new Mini Hatch in this part of the world, Mini, DDB and director Matt Murphy—the son of the original film’s director Geoff Murphy—set out on a mission to remake a classic scene from the movie. And the final clip premiered this week.
Those who enjoy seeing grown men roll on the ground in faux-agony are undoubtedly loving the Football World Cup. And Durex, a big believer in the joys of sexual honesty, has jumped on the football bandwagon and taken aim at those who fake it.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Facebook paid only $23,000 of tax over the course of 2013 in New Zealand. But, rather than further contributing to the media revile already available elsewhere, we decided to look at the positives by giving a rundown of all the awesome things Government could purchase with the funds attained from the organisation.
The traditional PR model may be eroding, but PR agencies and corporate comms teams still serve an important business function, says Kelly Bennett.
The Internet Party, “New Zealand’s newest, most awesome political party”, has landed with a bit of a thud on the political landscape, with a controversial founder/funder, a partnership deal with the Mana party and the announcement of Laila Harré as leader (and the ensuing leadership photo, which, according to Twitter, looks a lot like a cast photo from either The Almighty Johnsons, Star Trek or Outrageous Fortune). So how is it planning to woo the voters? We asked brand manager Andy Pickering a few questions.
Let me start by stating that Scaling Up Excellence by Robert I. Sutton & Huggy Rao and Unfair Fight by Sam Hazledine are both as comprehensive as they are excellent. One is all about taking your business to the next level, while the other is a précis of considerations and actions required for SMEs and startups. As such both books are probably not for you. One of them will be extremely relevant, while the other will be as useful as a Facebook poke. But since both are so damn virtuous and wholesome, I’ve devised a bit of a system based on key criteria to help you discover which book is best suited to you and your business needs.
Rather than sweating it out with barbells, grunting gym buddies, or shouty instructors, what if gyms let you escape? That is, let you go to that place in your head that ‘happens’ when you’re rocking out in a dance tent or speeding up a glacier on a bike. It’s called the zone, and it’s where Les Mills wants to take customers, with its new virtual-reality based venture called The Project: Immersive Fitness.
Four Kiwi entries have been shortlisted for awards in the Cannes Film category, with DDB, Clemenger and Saatchi & Saatchi all in with a chance to pick up some silverware at the ceremony.
Snakk Media’s preliminary financial results released last week showed a 92 percent year-on-year increase, shifting up from $3.6 million recorded between March 2012 and March 2013 to $7 million in the most recent results. Add to this the fact that the company has just announced plans to open a Singapore office in addition to those in Australia and New Zealand, and it seems that Snakk Media’s new chief executive Mark Ryan has a lot to smile about less than a year into his job. But a recent drop in the company’s share price and the fact that it continues to operate at a loss means the company’s evolution has had its fair share of ups and downs.
If the Onion’s Clickhole is any guide, there’s a section of society that doesn’t actually enjoy the hyperbole and superficiality of some online news outlets. And if you’re looking for a little more reality in your headlines, then Downworthy is the plug-in for you.
The first ever #smcakl awards were held last night at Britomart Country Club to a full house of corporates, social media enthusiasts and digital types.
Sky TV plans to increase its digital offering before the end of the year with the introduction of a subscription video on-demand service (SVOD), which will stand alone from Sky’s pay television services and be available to both Sky and non-Sky customers. This announcement comes shortly before Telecom is expected to announce the release of its SVOD services. So who will become the Netflix of New Zealand?
Last month DDB announced it was working with Sky Television to share the text streaming technology Spritz with Kiwis. And the first example of this went live this week in a digital campaign to promote the catch up weekend of True Blood season six on SoHo, before the seventh and final season begins.
Above the American-style Lone Star steakhouse in New Lynn, Auckland, is a very Kiwi office that runs the most influential wine website in the United States. So, aside from feeding off the subliminal vibes of country music wafting up from the restaurant every day from 4.30pm, how did Wine Searcher get from suburban New Zealand to dominating the US online wine scene?
Following on from yesterday’s gold and bronze in the Media category and bronze in the Outdoor category, FCB was among the winners again overnight as the agency picked up a pair of bronze lions in the Design category for its ‘Bottled Walkman’ campaign for Sony.
Colenso BBDO’s K9FM and Talkies spots for Mars Pedigree have taken silvers overnight in the radio category.
Three of the local campaigns many hoped would appeal to the Cannes judges didn’t get the golds they were hoping for, but they did come away with bronze overnight, with DDB taking two bronzes for Sky’s #Bringdowntheking and Paw Justice’s Animal Strike and Colenso BBDO getting one for Samsung’s Smartphone Line.
The digital realm has allowed marketers and agencies to come up with a range of complex campaign ideas. But sometimes the simplest ideas are the best in this mad digital world. And The New York Times has created an addictive wee gem called Spot the Ball as part of its Football World Cup coverage.
Australia is the biggest source of visitors to New Zealand, and they’re also pretty keen on Wellington. But there are some enduring misconceptions about the capital across the ditch, so in an effort to address them, Positively Wellington Tourism has enlisted the services of The Voice host Darren McMullan for a tongue-in-cheek self-promotional campaign. PLUS: Wellington pops-up in Auckland.
In a change of tack from giving out free cutlery, knives and glassware, the embattled Countdown followed New World’s Little Shop suit recently and hawked DreamWorks Heroes 3D collectible character cards and albums. And kids and adults alike have loved it, with general manager of marketing Bridget Lamont saying the campaign saw millions of cards in the hands of Kiwi parents and kids, and more than 100,000 albums sold out across the country.
Colenso BBDO is the only Kiwi agency still standing in the Radio category after the shortlist was announced overnight. The Auckland-based agency’s campaign for Memphis Meltdown has been shortlisted twice for the ‘Voice Transplant’ and ‘Listen to your Stomach’ spots and the agency also got received nominations for the ‘Talkies’, ‘Meditation’ and ‘K9FM’ spots created for Pedigree.
FCB’s already well-awarded ‘Bottled Walkman’ campaign has landed three nominations, while Whybin’s ‘Effies Results Don’t Lie’ campaign has received two nominations in the Design category at Cannes.
The media category proved to be very fruitful for the six shortlisted Kiwi entries, with Colenso BBDO’s ‘Smartphone Line’ picking up a silver and bronze, FCB’s ‘Bottled Walkman’ picking up a bronze and DDB’s ‘Animal Strike’ also winning a bronze. The biggest Kiwi winner of the night, however, was FCB’s ‘Brother in Arms’ campaign, which picked up a gold. PLUS: see which Peruvian campaign picked up the grand prix.
New Zealand enjoyed a 60 percent success rate in the Outdoor category at Cannes as three of the five entries shortlisted picked up awards at the festival. DDB’s ‘#BringDowntheKing’, FCB’s ‘Bottled Walkman’ and Colenso BBDO’s ‘Smartphone Line’ all won the approval of the judging panel—leaving the Kiwi contingent with smiles and a trio of bronze lions.
DDB and Colenso BBDO share six shortlisted entries between them in the cyber category, with the former contributing four and the latter two.
Copper’s Megan Clark spent six days judging the Promo & Activation category at Cannes. And here’s what she learned.
Yesterday, we reported that FCB was the only Kiwi agency shortlisted in the Mobile category for its ‘Food Photos Save Lives’ campaign for UNICEF. Well, the good news for the agency didn’t end there, because it was announced overnight that the campaign had picked up a silver gong at the coveted festival. PLUS: see which Brazilian campaign won the grand prix.
Fairfax has acquired a 50 percent stake in e-commerce start-up Pricemaker in an effort to tap into the revenue potential of its growing digital audience.
Is embracing your naughty, deviant side okay if what you’re consuming is really good? Hell yes, according to Coca Cola Amatil, whose launch campaign for its Deep Spring Naturals range has been asking New Zealanders to confess their naughty deeds since 1 May.
Up against an international field of broadcasting heavyweights at the Promax Global Excellence awards in New York last week, TVNZ Blacksand and Sky TV have both walked away with gold and bronze gongs.