There’s been no shortage of action in bankland recently, with agency shifts galore and fairly sizeable profits being announced by the big boys that could potentially lead to some fairly enthralling market-share battles this year. And one of the big ones is set to be between ASB and ANZ.
Naked announced the appointment of Guy Cousins as its managing partner last week. And as he comes in the front door, highly regarded strategist and planner Simon Bird has snuck out the back for a role as the head of planning within Whybin\TBWA.
It was not without a sigh and a grunt that agencies with relaxation on their minds received a notice from the Treasury on December 15 asking for interested parties to put their hands up if they wanted to work on the ‘extension of the mixed ownership model’ account. They obviously don’t know Christmas is a time of reflection for the marcomms industry. But it seems the biggest live pitch at the moment (aside from the decision on Vodafone, which is still thought to be in the hands of the global bods), is now down to the shortlist stage.
Christmas is a time to celebrate enduring traditions. Trees, mistletoe, binge eating, rampant consumerism. But in adland one of the most enduring traditions is seeing what progressive Auckland church St Matthew in the City puts on its billboard to celebrate the festive season and waiting for the angry response to ensue. Last year it was M&C Saatchi showing Mary and Joseph’s post-coital awkwardness and this year it’s the follow up from TBWA\: a billboard showing a shocked Mary looking at the results of her pregnancy test.
Who’s it for: 2Degrees Mobile by TBWA and Film Construction
Why we like it: Two words, Rhys Darby. He appeals to all demos with the trademark quirky geek style. And we want some “handy auto-writing arms” too.
Who’s it for: Axis Awards 2012, CAANZ …
It was a big year of rugby for adidas and TBWA\ was behind much of the work done to leverage its sponsorship of the All Blacks. ‘All In’ and Stand in Black were solid campaigns, but for many they were overshadowed by the PR shitstorm that ensued after the jersey price debacle. And as the global sports giant shifts its focus away from rugby and towards other sports, so the focus also shifts away from the New Zealand branch and towards the two agencies it uses in Australia.
The orange guy has been trying to get apathetic Kiwis to enrol to vote for a while now, as has comedian Guy Williams on TV3.co.nz’s homepage. And now controversial Auckland church St Matthew in the City and TBWA\ have invoked the spirit of Kate Sheppard to try and get the modern folk to embrace the joys of democracy next weekend with a billboard that says: ‘Vote: there was a time when you couldn’t’. It’s almost the opposite of St Matthew of the Ridge’s billboard for Car Fe.
Who’s it for: Mitre 10 Mega and Plunket by DraftFCB and Flying Fish
Why we like it: We’re suckers for time-lapse, especially when it’s used to promote a campaign helping to raise money for Plunket. A good idea, well-made and a nice original track from …
The party may be over. But, as expected, there are plenty of sponsors trying to bask in the reflected glow of the All Blacks Rugby World Cup victory, including Adidas with its new ‘all ours, again’ spot.
Tourism New Zealand put out a call for entries for a new agency in early September and, while TNZ’s Justin Watson made a commitment not to disclose the pitch list as “some of them might have conflicts”, it’s thought to have been whittled down to four: Clemenger Group, Droga5, Publicis Mojo and TBWA\.
Rugby’s pretty close to being a religion in New Zealand. And the outwardly progressive, typically controversial St Matthew in the City and its agency TBWA\ have referenced that with its latest billboard, which uses the ‘Turin Shroud’ style of iconography and endorses David Kirk as a Kiwi deity due to his team’s heroic efforts in 1987.
It was a 21 gun salute for Kiwi agencies at Spikes Asia, and Colenso BBDO was the sharpest shooter, taking the Digital Grand Prix for its Pedigree adoption drive, two golds, a silver and two bronzes.
After a record 3647 entries, the 55 jury members for Spikes Asia have released the shortlists for Print, Outdoor, Media, Direct, Promo & Activation, Design, PR, Radio, Digital, Mobile and Film. And DDB NZ is at the front of the Kiwi pack with 15 nominations, with Colenso BBDO close behind on eight.
It’s tough to make a buck in the music industry these days. But those creative types can sometimes make a pretty penny if they sell their soul and head into advertising. And it seems a few musos have left their instruments behind for scamp pads and sharpies of late, with Dave Gibson joining DraftFCB, the Kids of 88 starting at Barnes, Catmur & Friends and P-Money coming on-board at TBWA\.
Back in June, UK’s Campaign magazine published a Ltd Edition Emerging Talent Portfolio that showcased “the world’s best young creative talent, as chosen by the world’s best, er, old talent” and sold it at Cannes this year for 20p a copy. And two Kiwi entries made the top 50, TBWA\’s Agency Plankton and North Shore animation house Cirkus.
Life insurance is often seen as something of a morbid necessity and insurance companies often tap into the guilt factor to sell it. But Sovereign’s new campaign ‘Choose Life. Choose Sovereign’, which was developed by Whybin\TBWA and Tequila\ and continues a rebranding journey that began three years ago, aims to take a new, more positive stance on the role insurance plays in Kiwis’ lives with “a message of light-hearted empowerment”.
It’s not always be a pretty sight, but you’ll struggle to pull your eyes and ears away nevertheless. Battle of the Ad Bands 2011 is quickly approaching and if you fancy repeating the success of last year’s winner, TBWA’s ‘Backslash’, you best get registering.
Who’s it for: Telecom by Saatchi & Saatchi and Prodigy
Why we like it: It’s a fairly earnest, emotional affair, but it’s beautifully shot, well written and it uses a range of scenes and an accurate insight to show why so many different people are so …
MediaWorks has been in the news a bit recently, with the unexpected departure of its TV wunderkind Jason Paris and continuing discussion about the sizable debts of its owner Ironbridge. But it’s not all bad: its two-channel strategy appears to be paying off in terms of share, ad revenue is up and general manager of integration Melanie Reece says the “sleeping giant” of branded content and product placement is starting to wake up, as evidenced by the success of New Zealand’s Next Top Model and the inclusion of new sponsors like 2degrees into the show.
After the drama of the recent ANZ pitch, where Whybin\TBWA\ Melbourne took ownership of the account and ousted Kiwi incumbent DDB, everyone was interested to see what the big creative idea that supposedly won the day was. Now you can judge for yourself, because the bank’s first global ad campaign, which features Aussie actor Simon Baker in character as The Mentalist’s Patrick Jane, has been launched in Australia and Asia, with New Zealand soon to follow.
2degrees came out in March saying it had gained 11 percent of the consumer market since its launch around two years ago. Now it’s gunning for New Zealand’s business customers with new plans, a new TBWA\ TV campaign featuring a dizzying array of Rhys Darbys and a man strapped to a billboard.
Over the past 18 months adult contemporary music radio station Classic Hits has been the subject of a significant shake up in terms of its musical, advertising and dj line-up. And with those changes now firmly in place, the station has rounded off its makeover with a new logo that’s actually a significant departure from the green and red logo that’s been in place since 1993.
…as TBWA\ makes a couple more significant hires; Radio New Zealand splits up its Morning Report hosts; Clemenger Group continues to nurture youngsters after its inaugural Graduate Programme proved a success; Carat hunts for a new general manager; another old hand joins The Pond’s freelance ranks; Mango adds a trio to its events team; and the Ministry of Economic Development signs up an event advisor.
You can rely on the rather liberal St Matthew in the City church in Auckland to ruffle the feathers of the puritans and zealots with its ‘progressive’ billboards. And, as history has shown, you can also rely on Hell Pizza to stoke a few offensive coals with its advertising. Well, this Easter, the two of them have become surprising bedfellows.
…as Kerry Smith is farewelled; Tequila finds its new general manager after a lengthy search; Mango adds three new fruits; and one of The Sweet Shop’s directors gets the nod for his film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Who’s it for: Whittaker’s Peanut Slab by Assignment Group
Why we like it: Good honest chocolate. Very good entertaining montage. And there are plenty more very funny ‘swear by the slab’ moments here.
Who’s it for: Persil and Curious Film
Why we like …
After taking out the big one at the Marketing Awards last year, selling its wares to over 580,000 customers and bringing home a few other weighty accolades in its 18 month history, 2degrees and TBWA\ are already well-accustomed to winning. And it can add another trophy to the box sitting in Rhys Darby’s attic after the new Bruce and Brian spot was judged the winner of the March edition of Colmar Brunton’s Ad Impact Awards.
No golds were handed out in the Radio Single category, but DDB walked away with the next best thing, a silver for its ‘Van Gogh’ commercial, which was part of the Arts Channel radio campaign for Sky TV. It was the only award handed out in the category and adds to the Silver Lion Scriptwriting award picked up by DDB last year at Cannes. Listen to it here. No golds or silvers were handed out in the Radio Campaign category, but DDB won bronze for the Arts Channel campaign (Van Gogh, Rothco and Pollock) and TBWA\Tequila followed suit with a bronze for the 2degrees campaign. Anne Boothroyd and Bigid Alkema’s Sliding Doors was voted the best radio ad of the decade for the Radio Bureau’s Grandest Orca.
After five years operating successfully in the Kiwi market, TBWA\’s consumer PR and experiential agency Eleven PR is opening its doors in Sydney, with Rob Lowe, former senior account director at One Green Bean in Sydney, enlisted to lead the charge.