The RadioLive interview and 3 News clip featuring John Banks make for rather comical, cringe-worthy viewing. And, as the anonymous donation saga continues to unfold, the contextual humourists at Saatchi & Saatchi and Tui have jumped on board the Banksy train with a new billboard.
In late 2010, FMG shacked up with Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington, embarked on a bit of a brand refresh and ramped up its advertising, both to position itself as risk advice specialists with an in-depth understanding of the unique issues New Zealand farmers face, but also to try and move it further into the mainstream insurance market. And it’s taken a fairly novel, and some might say fairly un-rural approach to attract customers: a YouTube channel that was launched mid last year.
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.
Bathed in the green hue of ’70s inspired laser body scanners and violated by the sight of Leigh Hart’s velour one piece, 750-ish adfolk ventured down to the Viaduct Events Centre last night to watch Colenso BBDO’s Doggelganger campaign for Pedigree repeat Yellow Chocolate’s performance last year by taking the Grand, Titanium and Interactive AXIS. But, as is usually the case, the awards weren’t without some controversy.
Volkswagen announces a new leiter, TVNZ celebrates 25 years of Maori and Pacific programming, Boundary Road Brewery completes its global genius search, Waitemata shines on and Saatchi Sydney swallows Plankton.
Amazingly, the Mayans predicted Marmageddon would fall in 2012 (even though an internet myth claims they didn’t factor in Leap Years). And, in keeping with the modern trend of ‘Flawsomeness’, Sanitarium and Saatchi & Saatchi haven’t let the opportunity slip them by and have launched a new campaign featuring Sir Graham Henry asking New Zealanders not to freak out about the shortage of black gold and promising concerned residents that the yeasty meat-substitute will be back.
Assignment Group has Antipodes, Special Group had Mr Vodka, a few Colenso chaps are involved with Stolen Rum, some of the Shine gang are in the hospo game and, as this article shows, ad agencies like Anomaly, Sid Lee and Droga5 are increasingly moving into new areas to help pay the bills. But despite this international advertising trend, we were still surprised when we received a tip-off about Saatchi & Saatchi’s diversification plans.
Auckland indie Federation has been chosen by Emirates to handle its creative account in the New Zealand market. Federation won the account after a robust pitch lasting several months, understood to have involved at least two other agencies, including the incumbents Saatchi & Saatchi. As the agency of record, Federation will be responsible for brand, digital, direct and trade marketing, working alongside the Emirates corporate communications team in Dubai.
Who’s it for: Good Books by String Theory and Buck
Why we like it: It’s a brilliant, extremely well written tribute to the late great Hunter S. Thompson, it’s for a great cause, and the animation is stupendous.
Who’s it for: Dulux …
In November Saatchi & Saatchi, the Breast Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) and Prodigy films met Natalie Murphy, 20 months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was laid to rest in late December, one of the two New Zealand women who lose their battle against breast cancer every day, but in that time they created a very powerful—and very beautiful—film that tells her story and the story of the scientists working to find a cure by 2018. So watch the clip, check out the Facebook page, share it around and donate some cash to help them reach that goal.
February was the last month of the ORCA year and two very different ads came out on top. BCG2’s Chris Long and freelancer Martin Brown took the win with the euphemism-heavy ‘Ridiculously Refined’ ad for Jesters Pies. While at the other end of the spectrum, Sarah Litwin-Schmid and Emily Drake from Saatchi & Saatchi took the Merit for their powerful ‘Jane’ ad for Women’s Refuge.
Who’s it for: PlaceMakers by JWT NZ and Exposure
Why we like it: Like a nature documentary—but with tradesmen as the focus. A classy reality advertising campaign that shows the nuances of the building site very well, portrays the builders as craftsmen who like …
This month’s stand-out newspaper ad was Tui Brewery’s ‘Valentine’s Day’ ad from Saatchi & Saatchi. The judges agreed that it showed “great use of the medium and was interactive” and that it “spoke nicely to the immediacy of newspapers”.
Toyota New Zealand has teamed up with Saatchi & Saatchi for its latest Camry campaign, which is aimed at the ‘executives of life’. And, in terms of being so chock-a-block full of Kiwi patriotism it makes your teeth hurt, it’s right up there with Air New Zealand, Telecom, the BNZ, and, more recently, Mercury Energy. Of course, it was always going to be tough ask following up the Hilux’s ‘tougher than you can imagine’ campaign, but–hang on to your steak and cheese mate.
The Marketing Association celebrated the use of insight-driven marketing and data last week. And CAANZ will soon be celebrating what could be seen as the opposite end of the marcomms spectrum with the creatively-focused Axis Awards. And after 50 judges—and presumably the wonderous Axis Metal Detector—spent three days scanning the very best work in New Zealand this year, regular creative award-hogger Colenso BBDO came out on top with a massive 57 finalist nominations, followed by Special Group with another excellent showing on 21 and DDB Group and Clemenger BBDO on 17.
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.
Saatchi & Saatchi Auckland released a cheeky Valentine’s Day stunt for Tui today that allowed blokes to create DIY roses from an ad in the New Zealand Herald, and, at the exact opposite end of the Valentine’s Day advertising spectrum, the Wellington office has launched a subversive campaign for Women’s Refuge that hopes to get people thinking about what love means for some women, bring domestic abuse into the open and encourage New Zealanders to take a second glance if they suspect something isn’t right in a relationship.
Tui-drinkers are widely renowned as hopeless romantics. But some of them obviously need a bit of help to grease the wheels of love. So Tui and Saatchi & Saatchi have come to their aid by finding another use for the newspaper and creating a gift to help impress the missus (or the mister). Much like the alternative strip for Tuatara by Y&R Wellington last year, a bunch of foldable DIY roses is included in every edition of today’s New Zealand Herald, which means these sensitive new age guys “can keep [their] dosh for a dozen of another kind.”
Special Group duo Kim Fraser and Sarah Frizzell took the combined Dec/Jan ORCA with their ’91 Days of Summer’ campaign for Streets Ice Cream. They made 91 different ads, turning each day of summer into a national day. “December 4. National Weta Freak Out Day. Nothing says summer like a weta under that thing you just picked up. Is it a giant insect or a tiny brown crayfish? Doesn’t matter, your boyfriend still needs to man up, and grab a glass and a piece of cardboard.”
The booze laws are in for a bit of a tune-up this year, with a yet-to-be-announced, Government appointed panel set to bang heads over things like the role of alcohol sponsorship, price controls and industry self-regulation of advertising. Of all the beer brands, Tui is probably the one most often singled out for pushing the envelope, both for its controversial, long-running, PC-busting billboards and for supposedly using sex to sell beer with the Tui brewery girls. But the numerous complainers haven’t stopped it from continuing to use cheekiness and humour in its ads and, carrying on the popular tradition of using brewery raids, elaborate disguises and gnomes—Saatchi & Saatchi and The Sweet Shop have launched another entertaining brand ad for Tui Blond lager.
After a few years of quiet on the Y&R NZ front, it’s been pretty much all good news recently, with a host of new accounts locked in and some big creative hires to brag about. And it’s continued down that positive track by naming Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington’s associate creative director Scott Henderson as its creative director in Wellington.
In what will be a big blow to incumbent agency .99, Air New Zealand has chosen DrafFCB to be its lead agency after a competitive pitch, starting in March. But there is still some mystery surrounding the set-up of the account because Saatchi & Saatchi, which a few industry big mouths had thought was looking good to take the win, has also been included on the airline’s agency roster.
New year, new (and even some pre-Christmas) news in this bumper edition of Movings/Shakings, as Saatchi & Saatchi kicks off its Creative Collective with two hires, DDB adds a six pack to the creative coterie, tributes flow for Wellington’s Mike Boekholt, Adshel announces its new marketing director, Michelle Boag farewells Ogilvy, Courtney Lambert exchanges Fairfax for Xero, Kath Hurley swaps the MPA for the MA, NZ Lotteries chooses its new chief, Holly Dean takes a break from The Sweet Shop, and Cliff Joiner switches allegiance.
The tributes are flowing for long-time Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington typographer and designer Eric De Vries, who died off the Kapiti Coast over the weekend after he failed to surface from a free-dive.
As Leonardo da Vinci once said, water is the driving force of all nature. And it’s also the driving force of Saatchi & Saatchi’s new campaign for Pump.
With shareholders voting overwhelmingly in favour of splitting Telecom in two at the annual general meeting recently, the fall out from the “Abstain for the Game” campaign and the appointment of new marketing boss Jason Paris, change is most definitely in the wind for Telecom at the moment. And it’s thought the first phase of that change is cranking into gear.
Coca Cola Amatil (CCA) has taken three more brands off incumbent Ogilvy and awarded them to Saatchi & Saatchi.
The Air New Zealand business is thought to be up for pitch, with a rumoured list of Saatchi & Saatchi, DraftFCB, Special Group and the incumbent .99/Colenso all gunning for one of the country’s best-loved brands.
The votes have been counted and the results are no surprise, with the latest outing for the Hilux taking out the Ad Impact Award for September.
Heineken’s global ‘Enjoy Heineken Responsibly’ campaign aims to “inform and educate consumers about the safe and responsible consumption of alcohol”—and, ideally, the safe and responsible consumption of Heineken. And now it’s ramping up its efforts to drill that message in at the business end of the RWC with the official launch of its ‘let a sober driver take you home’ taxi campaign in Auckland.