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Ads@6: 9 June – 27 June
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This edition of Ads@6 takes a step back to mid-late June. Of note: The Electricity Authority takes creative liberty on the celebrity heads game; Westpac shows us how ambitious babies can be with their well crafted Gen W commercial; The Aussie’s continue to do their best to reel us over the Tasman for a holiday—this time with a spot of snorkeling; and MasterCard commences with its nostalgic rugby campaign.

News
We Can Create shuffles its roster
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The world of creativity is all about shaking things up and upcoming art, design and creative technologies event We Can Create is no exception.  And among the shakings is an amended and expanded line-up of inspirational speakers.

News
Slip sliding away
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Who’s it for: Tui Blond ‘Vortex’, by Saatchi & Saatchi NZ

Why we like it: The response to the new Tui bottle vortex bottle design has been, it’s fair to say, not overwhelmingly supportive. In this TVC the team try to sex up the vortex design in typical Tui …

News
MSN research predicts massive upswing in online advertising
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Common sense would have it that, with just about everything moving online, the role of online video advertising too will only get bigger. MSN decided to find out and conducted some modestly sized local industry research, with results indicating that the majority (87 percent) of local agencies are expecting to see bigger online video advertising budgets over the next 12 months.

News
Absolute power entertains absolutely in new PowerShop campaign
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Playing around with some of the nastiest dictators to have ever set foot on earth might seem a touch risky, but for online electricity upstart Powershop, it’s hoping a new campaign by DoubleFish, staring the likes of North Korea’s Kim Jong II and Saddam Hussein, will give the company a point of difference against its larger competitors.

News
GrabOne toasts its first birthday by drinking design
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If you want to sway the discerning public’s attention to your product, there’s nothing quite like involving them in the development of the product, risky as it may be. And, in a bid to celebrate its first year of business, that’s exactly what daily deal site GrabOne did. Harnessing the pull of its GrabOne Bottle site, Facebook fans were invited to vote on three designs by Media Design School graduate Allan Wrath, the top design earning itself prime position on an anniversary edition wine bottle.

Opinion
Storm in a beer mug shows the trouble with trademarks
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So, DB has trademarked the beer name “Radler” for its Monteith’s brand, to the despair of independent brewers who say “Radler” is a style of beer, not a brand, and shouldn’t be owned by a beverage behemoth. It’s a battle begging comparison to David and Goliath, but then it seems so many trademark cases are. Here’s our pick of the persnickety trademark bunch ©.

News
Selling fairness, owning the future: inside Labour’s push for power
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Labour’s political big wigs gathered together yesterday to fire the first election salvo and spell out the party’s intention to impose a capital gains tax if it wins power in November. And the campaign, which is being led by Image Centre Group and String Theory, hopes to persuade Kiwis to vote for the reds by playing on the ideas of fairness and ownership of the future. 

News
Ads@6: 25 May – 8 June
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We’re venturing back into May and early June for this edition of Ads@6. Of note in this bunch: Classic Hits might be trying to reposition itself as hip and contemporary, but it endorses a rather cheesy CD of soppy ballads; Mainland and Werther’s Original tap into some nostalgia; Ford’s All Blacks designed car delves into the interior aspects; some bogus surfing action for internet protection software; NZTA takes the humorous route; and the Electoral Commission does its best to get you vote savvy.

News
Radio rebrand waves continue—UPDATED
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In a move that draws parallels with the Radio Network’s recent Classic Hits’ station brand shift, MediaWorks’ More FM has also been busy on the refresh front, unveiling a new look that features a spotted logo and the positioning phrase: “Live it. Love it. Sing it.” According to More FM Network programme director Ande Macpherson, who joined the station in February to help reconnect the brand to its core values, there’s been a disconnect with what More FM actually stood for.

News
T-Minus awards calendar gets creative to prompt creatives’ entries
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The awards extravaganzas are finally over for another year, as Cannes comes to a close and agencies around the world tot up their Lions and add them to their 2010/11 haul. And to celebrate the start of brand new awards year, a brand new, interactive product to ensure agencies and creatives need never miss an awards deadline called T-Minus that was created by Steve Moss and Jo Finch at RKCR/Y&R in London in collaboration with digital hotshop B-Reel has been launched. 

News
Change is inevitable…
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… (except from vending machines) as Karl Fleet departs Colenso to sit on a throne in the Campaign Palace, Interbrand welcomes a new senior designer, Andrew Spear takes up the rod at NZ Fishing World, PPR shacks up with big comms behemoth Burson-Masteller, Frucor drinks in a new chief executive, Keiran Frost moves up the Orange chain and TVNZ renews its free-to-air deal with Warner Bros. 

News
Online time is on social media’s side
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As everyone knows, the internet is a wonderful thing to waste time on and social media is often singled out as the biggest cause of this timewastery. Now comScore’s Media Metrix service has delivered some local proof, with its recent study on internet usage in New Zealand showing social networking is the most popular online activity, accounting for one of every five minutes spent online in May.

News
New—and hopefully improved
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Part 143 in an occasional series, this time starring Tenfold Creative and Jennian Homes, Mission Hall and Arthritis New Zealand, JustONE and the Topp Twins, Levi’s and Wieden + Kennedy and a ‘social-film’ by Toshiba and Intel. 

News
Bookabach RWC campaign gets spidey senses tingling—UPDATED
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There’s been plenty of discussion about the Major Events Management Act (MEMA) and the steps being taken by organisers to limit so-called ambush marketing during the upcoming ‘Big Rugby Event’. Some say the rules are too draconian and kowtow to the corporates, while others believe they’re fair enough because they aim to protect the sizable investment of the Rugby World Cup’s official sponsors. Urgent Courier’s Mobile AdVert has already come under fire from OMANZ for a possible breach. And we’ve found a campaign on AA’s Bookabach.co.nz that looks like it’s in a very similar boat. 

News
More reading = more spending, says Nielsen’s new CMI research
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When Nielsen launched its pimped out Consumer & Media Insights (CMI) research tool back in April, publishers’ mouths started watering at the prospect of being able to prove New Zealanders who read magazines and newspapers actually spent more, thereby showing print was a good place for brands to be seen. And while the first instalment of the new readership offering had a few teething problems, its new fused data approach has revealed there is “a strong connection between high household expenditure and print media readership”.

News
McKenna flies away on a Zephyr
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When we last spoke with indie agency Zephyr at the start of the year, they had just won three new pieces of business. Now the three sausage-loving partners—Robert Coulter, Warwick Delmonte and Quentin Pfiszter—may be cooking up a few more celebratory bangers after winning Lion’s McKenna bourbon account in a pitch involving Special Group and BCG2.

News
Phone home
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Who’s it for: Telecom by Saatchi & Saatchi and Prodigy

Why we like it: It’s a fairly earnest, emotional affair, but it’s beautifully shot, well written and it uses a range of scenes and an accurate insight to show why so many different people are so …

News
Bangers and crash: Localist shares the hyper-local love
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It’s been difficult to miss the Yellow Local campaign around Auckland recently, with a host of regularly changing billboards on the streets and an array of regularly changing TVCs on our screens. But when we spoke to Localist’s chief executive Blair Glubb a few weeks ago he said it was taking a very different approach than its main competitor and building the name up in the market by putting its salesforce to work before launching an ad campaign. But now that time has come, with a couple of ads that show what can happen ‘when people share what’s good around here’. 

Opinion
Meta-news: the good online oil on the phone hacking scandal
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It has all the key ingredients of a holy grail story that would be right at home in the News of the World: secrets, politics, royalty, skullduggery, dubious ethics and alleged bribery. And yet the 168-year-old tabloid renowned for nabbing such stories closed on Sunday after it emerged it had hacked into the phones of murder victims and allegedly also 9/11 victims, royals and politicians. As you can imagine, there’s a whole heap of information, commentary and satire available online about the scandal. And we’ve collected the best of it so you don’t have to.

Opinion
Is Google+ the Facebook killer?—UPDATED
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Hopefully. After one week of playing with it, I’m impressed. The ease of keeping your profile secure from certain people and being able to easily see exactly what information is displayed to who, as well as the addition of “Hang outs” and a few other features is great.

News
Chalis Group just wanna do something special, for all the ladies in the world*
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When it comes to controlling the global purse strings, some international stats suggest women make over 80 percent of all the purchasing decisions. Chris Ivers and Julie Stratton, who met at JWT in their 20s and between them have years of experience on both agency and client-side here and overseas, are embracing this burgeoning international trend and have launched new Auckland advertising agency Chalis Group, “the only New Zealand agency specialising in advertising to women”.

News
An ode to connection: Telecom and Saatchi launch new heartstring-tugging brand ad
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When it comes to smartphone usage overseas, the tipping point appears to be approaching rapidly. And while New Zealand is slightly behind in the smartphone uptake stakes, Telecom and Saatchi & Saatchi are hoping to increase the numbers by tapping into the emotional appeal of the devices and promoting their ability to aid all kinds of communication with its latest brand ad, one of the first pieces of work new executive creative director Antonio Navas has his name attached to.

News
Work mixed with pleasure as…
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…Publicis Mojo and Waitemata films send Kenneth on a radio-controlled journey for the Auckland City Mission’s winter appeal, DDB NZ create a semi-internet meme with its new Pascall Swirl campaign, Tracta launches campaigns for the New Zealand Credit Union and Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union and Sean Fitzpatrick promotes full credit checking. 

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