The music talent of Adland took to the stage at the Kings Arms last night to display their musical prowess, shady dance moves and inflated egos in Battle of the Ad Bands (BOTAB).
Browsing: BOTAB
It has absolutely nothing to do with advertising, but every year agencies from across the industry descend on the Kings Arms for a night of noise. This year didn’t disappoint. It was everything you’d want from a gig: loud, crowded and energetic with a touch of Backstreet Boys.
Axis gongs, client wins and the quality of campaigns usually define competition in the creative advertising industry. But every year, for one night, none of that matters, as the agencies take to the stage and vie for the greatest honour of them all: the Battle of the Ad Bands (BOTAB) title. This year was no different. A total of 550 fans converged at the Kings Arms to watch the madness unfold as Pegasus and The Job Numbers (Colenso BBDO), The Gypsy Thieves (DDB), The OG Villains (Ogilvy & Mather), The Expendables 5 (Sugar & Partners and String Theory), Foote Cone (FCB), Dooya (WhybinTBWA/DAN), Building 7 (Flying Fish) and The Chased (OMD) took a moment away from their day jobs to slap the bass in front of three judges.
The hair is being groomed and the guitars are being tuned for tonight’s Beatles-themed Battle of the Ad Bands at the Kings Arms, and while the winner of the last two year’s events, Barnes, Catmur & Friends’ Friends Electric, is out of the running this year (all the members are thought to be pursuing solo projects after a huge falling out, with Daniel Barnes going through his Sting phase and focusing on the lute), it’s an opportune moment to show off the saucy full-length music video the band made as part of its prize from its win in 2012.
Industry happenings at Touchcast, Healthy Life Media, BOTAB, CAANZ and Blockhead.
As the Bacchanalian throng moshed to adland’s gods and goddess of rock at last week’s Battle of the Ad Bands, .99/justONE took the opportunity to shoulder tap—literally—some of those in attendance.
For the second year in a row, Barnes Catmur & Friends’ Friends Electric took the top prize at the only ad award that really matters, BOTAB.
As part of last year’s Battle of the Ad Bands, the winning band, Barnes Catmur & Friends’ Friends Electric, ate the 50 gallons of personalised ice cream and drove the Audi slightly above the speed limit. They were also given a recording session at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios and had a music video filmed. So, as the industry gears up for this year’s musical showdown tonight at the Kings Arms, what better time to reveal the fruits of that labour.
The most important night on the advertising calendar looms once again. And if the Battle of the Ad Bands registration poster is any gauge, it looks like it’s going to be a twerk fest this Thursday at the Kings Arms Tavern. So make sure you get your tickets.
If you haven’t rocked the horns at CAANZ’s Battle of the Ad Bands yet, you should put it on your advertising-related bucket list. But if you can’t wait until next year, this year’s festivities were captured beautifully—and, for those in the film, probably embarrassingly—by the gang at Flying Fish.
Last week, the musical visionaries from Barnes, Catmur & Friends (and James ‘Black Jim’ Blackwood on drums) banished the ghosts of Battle of the Ad Bands past and took home the top prize. And for all those who weren’t there, and all those who were there but may have slightly hazy memories, here’s a few action shots taken by Dallas Pickering.
The shots were downed at the door, the undies went flying onto the stage regularly and the screams were deafening last night as seven bands came together and rocked the hell out of the King’s Arms for the fifth annual Battle of the Ad Bands, a night that some jokingly—or not so jokingly—call the most important in advertising. And after being there or thereabouts in previous years, the worthy rock gods and goddess in Barnes, Catmur & Friend’s Friends Electric finally took the top prize, prying it from the cold dead hands of TBWA\, which had won it for the past two years but didn’t feature in this year’s festivities.
The whisk(e)y is being gargled, the leather vests are being shined and powerstances are being perfected. Which can mean only one thing: preparations are underway for The Battle of the Ad Bands. Seven agency bands have put up their hands to rock your world this year. So here are the contenders gunning for rock godhood, along with the classic movie songs they’ve been given to perform.
Music is a powerful force in advertising. Jingles are thought to be the leading cause of ‘song rash’ among New Zealanders, choosing the right backing track can sometimes mean the difference between ‘meh’ and magnificent , and, due to the creative proclivities of those working in this industry, many of those who inhabit it are annoyingly talented musicians. And the advertising event that many jokingly (or, in some cases, not-so-jokingly) refer to as the year’s most important is back for 2012. So let the inter-agency banter for the Battle of the Ad Bands commence.
You’ve marvelled at the winners, who each get to drive a new Audi A1 Sport Plus for a week, and you’ve seen the pictures from the CAANZ Battle of the Ad Bands. Now, thanks to Flying Fish and Audi, you can hear some of the ear/see some of the eye candy those there on the night got to lap up by heading to the Experience Audi website.
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The crowd was blasted into submission by an array of powerful riffs, extreme hip gyration and unparalled musical virtuosity last week at the Battle of the Ad Bands, which was eventually won by TBWA\’s talented three-piece Virgin Galactic. Sadly, it was too loud and awesome for our so-called ‘smartphone’ to effectively record the live action, but we’ve got the next best thing: gig photos, thanks to photographer Dallas Pickering.
The air was thick with the smell of rock, bourbon and groupies last night at the King’s Arms as the CAANZ and Flying Fish Battle of the Ad Bands, easily the most anticipated and important event on the advertising calendar, pitched agency against agency, virtuoso against virtuoso, rock god/goddess against rock god/goddess. And in what can only be described as a battle of the titans, TBWA\’s three-piece outfit Virgin Galactic backed up last year’s victory as Backslash and were crowned the kings of adland.
It’s a prerequisite for any bonafide rock god or goddess to drive a cool car. And Audi New Zealand is coming to the party for this Thursday’s Battle of the Ad Bands at the Kings Arms, offering the winning band a brand new Audi A1 Sport Plus to share for a month.
Forget your EFFIEs and Axis Awards, this was the one that really counted: the 2010 Battle of the Ad Bands.
So many things to read about, see, enter and attend, so little time.
The winner of the Battle of the Bands caption contest is … B!
Mexican-wrestler-wielding-guitar fancy dress penis suit wins judges hearts.
And Suzanne McNamara made us giggle the most with her entry to accompany Rodney Hide’s pic in Headline op missed.
Sharples only comes up to here on me.
You …