Since Antonio Navas first arrived in New Zealand in 2011, there have been murmurings about his impending departure. “I heard that Antonio is leaving” almost became as common a phrase as “integrated cross-channel marketing initiative” in conversations between those in the industry (they had to get it right eventually). And despite this speculation, Navas just shrugged it off and focused on what he came here to do in the first place: create ads that get noticed. Here are a few thoughts from Navas on his time in New Zealand.
Browsing: Antonio Navas
In a release sent out earlier this afternoon, Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand’s chief executive Nicky Bell announced that executive creative director Antonio Navas would be returning to the States, bringing an end to a stint that started in June 2011. Taking the Venezuelan-born creative’s place are Corey Chalmers and Guy Roberts, who will be promoted to the positions of joint executive creative directors, effective 1 September.
The bar for call for entries campaigns has risen significantly in recent years, with the likes of DraftFCB’s ‘The real judge of advertising is the consumer’ campaign for the 2011 Effies and TBWA\’s ‘Results Don’t Lie’ effort this year standing out. And there are a couple more good ones bubbling away at the moment for the Axis Awards and the newly rejigged Beacon Awards.
The Electoral Commission’s new campaign aims to spread the word among Maori about the choice available to them in the Maori Electoral Option, a legislated event that runs approximately every five years. And to do it, Saatchi & Saatchi enlisted the services of “performance painter” and sand artist Marcus Winter and embarked on what it calls a true collaboration.
After last year’s Axis Awards, shit hit fans when two of the country’s best campaigns—NZTA’s Ghost Chips and Steinlager’s ‘We Believe’—were largely snubbed. Since then, CAANZ, the CAANZ board and a collection of the country’s executive creative directors have been working together to make sure it doesn’t happen again. And a few important changes were announced at an event last night at The Bluestone Room in Auckland.
Certain industries usually do quite well in recessions. Supermarkets, debt collectors, discount retailers, education providers, ‘sin industries’, the armed forces and plenty of others. And at a time when life is pretty tough for many young folk in New Zealand, a new campaign launched this month by the New Zealand Defence Force, Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand and Starcom Worldwide aims to offer potential recruits a peek at what their life could be like as a member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
The relative lack of sun—and therefore barbecues—over the summer months hasn’t been ideal for the booze industry (craft beer continues to grow, while the overall beer market is thought to be down around five percent). But as the inside months approach and the rugby season gets into full swing, Tui’s new ‘Halftime Distractions’ spot by Saatchi & Saatchi and The Sweet Shop’s Stuart McDonald (he of Summer Heights High fame) is hoping to ensure the boys will focus on the brown stuff should they be required to provide for the group.
There were a few raised eyebrows in the industry when Corey Chalmers and Guy Roberts followed the ASB business from TBWA\ to Droga5. Now, after 18 months with the agency, the pair have upped sticks again to fill the role of creative directors at Saatchi & Saatchi NZ, while Droga5 has named Anomaly London’s executive creative director Nathan Cooper as a replacement.
Coca Cola Amatil (CCA) has taken three more brands off incumbent Ogilvy and awarded them to Saatchi & Saatchi.
Saatchi & Saatchi has been in a state of creative flux since executive creative director Dylan Harrison decided to head to Australia after less than a year in the role. While the search for a replacement was undertaken, Jeremy Taine was brought in as a part-timer to guide the agency’s creative output. But there’s no need for that anymore, because they’ve found their man: Venezuelan-born Antonio Navas, who comes to New Zealand from a role as executive creative director at Ogilvy and Mather New York.