Kiwi ‘post-punk revival’ band The Naked and Famous have recently been holed up in Los Angeles studio trying their best to overcome That Difficult Second Album Syndrome for In Rolling Waves (by the way, That Difficult Second Album would be a great name for a debut album). And the band has once again called on Special Problems to direct the music video for its new single ‘Hearts Like Ours’.
Film duo Campbell Hooper and Joel Kefali (aka Special Problems) permiered their short film Echoes at Cannes last month to some of the biggest names in the global film industry.
AA Insurance and Special Group took the opportunity to remind the nation about the positive aspects of insurance with the launch of its big 90 second brand ad a few weeks back. And now it’s following that up with a series of 30 and 15 second product ads—once again nicely crafted by Special Problems—and an attention-grabbing outdoor campaign that aims to communicate the new ‘Let’s get things sorted’ positioning and showcase the various facets of the business, from tailored car insurance to personal case managers.
Air New Zealand’s hairyplane, AA Insurance’s tribute to the wonders of its industry and Speight’s New York knocking get the goodness.
Insurance is usually a very low involvement category; a grudge purchase if ever there was one (although it’s become a very high-involvement category for some in Christchurch, and not in a good way). As a result, the service it offers is often taken for granted until it’s needed. So, perhaps rather bravely given the current feelings towards the industry, AA Insurance has decided it’s time to promote the positives of its business with a big multi-media campaign by its new agency Special Group that spans TV, digital, DR, outdoor and radio.
Most of the One Show Awards were handed out last month, with Colenso BBDO taking a gold and Publicis Mojo taking a silver. And the winners of the One Show Entertainment Awards, which honour the world’s best entertainment concepts, television ideas, branding and mobile or online content, were announced yesterday in Los Angeles, with Special Group’s Smirnoff Night Project taking a silver pencil in the television/reality/unscripted category.
Who’s it for: Lexus by Saatchi & Saatchi
Why we like it: While Toyota’s marketing is all about New Zealandness, this moody new campaign for its luxury subsidiary Lexus aims to drum home the brand’s proud Japanese heritage—and, more specifically, its focus on craftsmanship. And …
Once again, CAANZ and The Sweet Shop are set to send two young Kiwi creatives off to Thailand as part of its sponsorship of the Adfest Lotus Award. And another two Kiwis who have already shown their creative chops, the hot-to-trot directing collective Special Problems, have just signed up with The Sweet Shop for commercial and branded content work worldwide.
Who’s it for: Sky by DDB and Prodigy
Why we like it: On first viewing, it seems like just another over earnest rugby ad. Turns out it’s one of the funniest instalments of the Match Fit series so far. Taking rugby advertising cliches and poking some …
It’s hard to promote crap places, which means town branding campaigns often end up smacking of desperation (‘Milton: A Town of Opportunities’, for example). But you would think promoting a city that Monocle magazine recently ranked the world’s 16th most livable would be a much easier task. Sadly, due in part to the fragmented bureaucracy of the past, Auckland’s promotional efforts have been rather disjointed in recent years, especially when compared to the impressive destination marketing work done by the Wellingtonians and New Zealand as a whole. Now, however, after the birth of the Super City and the lure of all those domestic and foreign visitors expected to hit the Auckland streets during the Rugby World Cup, things have been turned up a notch or two.
Back in November, Smirnoff and Special Group launched a campaign to get people to come up with kerrrazzeee ideas for events, with the winning concepts brought to life and the highs and lows of the lead-up and execution filmed for an unscripted reality show that would screen on FOUR. Well, that show kicks off tonight at 10.30 and Special Group creative director Tony Bradbourne is pretty damn excited about it.