Frucor’s V brand has pushed a number of marketing envelopes in the New Zealand market and, given it’s at the head of the field in the energy segment, that seems to have paid off. Frucor also has global ambitions for the brand, and it’s looking to climb the ladder in Europe with a campaign centred around internet trolls.
Rico, the furry, double entendre-loving puppet, was a polarising mascot for Air New Zealand. Some felt his lewd conduct was ‘off’brand’ and a bad look for a premium airline that had lost its marketing way. Others felt it wasn’t aimed at New Zealanders and was a smart, fun way of gaining a heap of international attention via the airline’s social media channels. He was cerainly one of the most talked-about marketing things of the year, but now, in typically dramatic fashion—and with a smart digital tie-in to the boardgame Cluedo—Rico has been killed off.
We’ve seen Rob Fyfe and various staff prancing about in the nude, the puerile puppet of indeterminate provenance and the All Blacks and Richard Simmons in the safety videos. And now we welcome Mason & Jason, “the truly inseparable sheep twins”.