Whether it’s the objectification of women (and, to a lesser degree, men) or the representation of male dunces incapable of doing the simplest of tasks, much has been written about the role of gender stereotypes in advertising. And now NZ Pork’s latest campaign, which aims to get men back into the kitchen, cook some pig and give their ‘missuses’ a break, has earned the ire of some for taking things back to the ’50s.
Browsing: NZ Pork
Ogilvy’s ode to the magical, wonderful pig, Lisa Carrington’s gentle encouragement for Southern Cross and Sorted’s closure of the loop reach the dais.
Since it won the New Zealand Pork account early last year, Ogilvy has been on a mission to change outdated perceptions and “drive purchase behaviour through a journey of digital awareness, engaging in-store communications, promotions and demonstration”. It brought chef Simon Gault onboard as spokescook for the Extraordinary Kitchen campaign and focused heavily on retail. But, like its recent change of direction for Holden, it’s tried to bring a bit more emotion to the table and, as executive creative director Angus Hennah says, “tell simple human stories that make pork the hero”.
Silver Fern Farms has Annabel Langbein, Regal Salmon has Masterchef winner Nadia Lim, and New Zealand Pork and OgilvyAction have followed suit with a campaign that plays on the appeal of chef Simon Gault.
Shopper marketing and retail activation is still in its infancy in New Zealand, but, given some figures show up to two thirds of purchasing decisions are made instore, things are starting to heat up. And Ogilvy New Zealand, which already has a solid presence in this space with connections to the Greg Partington-owned instore media company Hypermedia and product demonstration company Demoworks, is aiming to tap into this growth area by bringing these entities under one name and launching a new local office called OgilvyAction. And, in its first month of existence, it has already won the New Zealand Pork account in a competitive five-way pitch.