Hanover Finance and Chapman Tripp go to Hell
Photo: gotcha.co.nz
Hell Pizza love a bit of advertising-related controversy. And it created some more after releasing a couple of mobile billboards headlined ‘greed’ that featured head and shoulders photos of the founders of Hanover Finance, Mark Hotchin and Eric Watson.
The mobile billboards were driven around Auckland and the one featuring Hotchin’s mug was parked outside his new $30 million house on Paritai drive, which is currently under construction.
Hanover finance was contemplating legal action against Hell yesterday and this morning there was a knock at the door with a letter from Chapman Tripp asking for an injunction. Cease and desist by 12pm, the letter said. Or else.
Hell Pizza’s communications manager Matt Blomfield said he would take the billboards down if Hotchin agreed to a public debate on greed.
But Hell Pizza’s Warren Powell says the company will probably flaunt the greed theme for the next 24 hours or so and is likely to bow to the demands. And while he thinks Hell would be victorious if it came to a legal battle, he says it’s not worth the effort because the job of creating discussion around the behaviour of Hanover finance’s founders (and engaging in some cheeky, timely marketing) is done.
“We’d obviously win hands-down if it went to court,” he says, “but we’d waste a lot of time and money pursuing it.”
And he said in an email: “We are thinking we may allow them to seek the injunction. What a waste of time for them. One would have thought they had other worries than a pizza company, like paying people. Pity they still do not know how to use shareholders’ money,” he says.
Hotchin displayed glimmers of good sportsmanship yesterday when he told Stuff.co.nz: “I wouldn’t have minded but I have tried their pizzas and I thought they were rubbish – even the kids wouldn’t eat them. I prefer Pizza Hut.”
And Powell says legal action for Hotchin’s disparaging remarks may be the only practical response.
“We should’ve taken him to court for that. Honestly, no-one prefers Pizza Hut,” he says.
Blomfield says the management team came up with the idea to link their Greed pizza with Hanover Finance over lunch one day and, in typical Hell pizza style, decided to take a punt. It initially enlisted the services of Oggi to put up two billboards, but Oggi required the three directors to provide personal indemnity. Oggi’s managing director Gordon Frykberg says the three directors agreed but then pulled out at the last minute.
When defamation is a possibility, he says it’s often the media company that is targeted, so it’s not in the company’s financial interests to risk significant legal expenses. It’s a lose-lose situation if it ends up in court (he’s got some experience in the matter after Mark Cooper agreed to personal indemnity and took on Hotchin and Watson), which is why the company requires indemnity.
But he respects Hell Pizza’s shock horror, guerilla approach to advertising (Oggi agreed to put up the brownie billboard a few months ago) and hopes to continue working with them in the future.
Duncan Stuart
November 24, 2009
I Hell actually paying their ad agency these days?
Chris Bennett
November 24, 2009
Actually I agree with Mark Hotchin. Hell pizzas are TERRIBLE! In fact the cardboard pizza box they come in actually taste better. Hell Pizzas do great PR but I think they should focus on the taste thing first.
Rob
November 24, 2009
I'm with Chris. used to be a quality product but gone way downhill in last year or two,
Lauren Edwards
November 24, 2009
I met with a Hell Franchiser last week and he was so relieved the original Hell Pizza Team are back – he was VERY concerned by BK's plans to save $ by getting rid of the food safety gloves!
Let's hope the return of the real devils brings back real pizzas again. LOL at this brilliant PR job – well done guys, keep it coming.
Damian
November 24, 2009
I would focus on the quality the their product before putting any money into advertising. I tried a Hell pizza several years ago and it was great. We tried it 6 months ago and wouldn't try it again. Quality of product must come first unless your paying your agency in pizzas of course.
Jo
November 24, 2009
desperate attention seeking marketing for an average product
anita
November 24, 2009
I think Marks picture is great nothing wrong with a bit of greed and risk
Hugh Mungus
November 24, 2009
Brilliant! I'm buying Hell Pizzas from now on!
PR High Five
November 24, 2009
Doubtless Blomfield and his chums are high-fiving themselves at news media’s treatment of their topical advertising marvelousness. Look forward to a cringe worthy PR award submission that applies a ridiculous advertising equivalent measure of all the ‘free’ publicity. More high-fiving. Agree with Hotchin. If only they applied the same panache in their kitchens.
Hugh Mungus
November 24, 2009
PR High 5. That's not you Mark Hotchin is it?
Simon
November 24, 2009
Anita – How can anyone honestly believe there is nothing wrong with Greed and Risk, there is no risk for Hotchin he's used money from 17,000 investors to feather a nest worth more than 50 mil all up, he owns a number of houses that most would only dream of owning, that money from 17,000 investors is money out of OUR economy and community, money that we all need in circulation <em>[the remainder of this comment has been removed by the the team at Stoppress]</em>
Vinnie
November 24, 2009
Here's a free creative suggestion for the lads at Hell, that would help them to extend this publicity. Bring out a new "limited time offer" pizza called the Greed Pizza!. ( PS you can pay me in Pizzas for this idea )
viv poppelwell
November 24, 2009
I think a bit of greed and risk is what makes the world go around but a slice of Hells Pizza… stops you in your tracks.
Su Yin Khoo
November 24, 2009
@Vinnie: The Greed pizza is what they're advertising, exactly.
Vincent Heeringa
November 24, 2009
Just a reminder to all you good commenters here: please be aware that as the publisher I will delete your comments if your cross over into what I perceive to be defamatory comments. And some alerady have been delted. Sorry, to be an arse but it's the law.
As for the campaign, it's deliberately provocative and we all knew the outcome would be a quick splash in the news media.
But I also believe Matt Blomfield would have taken his clowning all the way to court. He told one of our people that he was hoping literally to dress as a clown and defend himself should it make it that far.
Fine promises, but actually I reckon he would have, the guy's got so much chutzpah.
Eamonn Walsh
November 24, 2009
Sooooo boring to say that Hell don't do good pizza. NZ needs brave fun brands like Hell.
anita
November 24, 2009
Greed (also called avarice) in psychology is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.
Personally I want more than my share before any body else has any!
claire
November 24, 2009
maybe they should do a billboard with barry coleman on it
Simon
November 24, 2009
Maybe they should do a billboard with Matt Blomfield on it as he too has failed to pay his numerous creditors.
Giles Barker
November 24, 2009
If Chapman Tripp have been engage by him personally that is one thing, but if they are working for Hanover Fiance that would seem strange. I definitely think that Hell should go the whole way on this. If they loose I imagine that damages to Hotchin's reputation could go to 5 cents , maybe 10. Using a 'name' law firm to scare people off is a typical tactic, it doesn't mean they think they can win it just means that Chapman Tripp are prepared to take ta fee nothing more. Only question I would have is do Hell have the picture rights as that is the onlt way I could see them getting in trouble.
claire
November 25, 2009
its a harsh world and it seems to me that H and W have taken calculated risks and it takes someone with balls to take risks -they have had some enormous successes for this country over the past 20 years but no one remembers that. Everyone has the smacking paddle out for their "risk" that turned bad! maybe none of you are ballsy enough to take risks therefore this will never happen to you. But maybe the investors did take a risk courtesy of their own greed – to finance ones house to get another to me seems greedy on a smaller scale – a calcualated risk.
Vincent Heeringa
November 25, 2009
Claire, it's idiotic to compare risking your own money and risking other people's.
Hanover was effectively a bank, trading off the credibility that heritage (through Elders) and PR (through Richard Long) gave it. Playing fast with the public's money, even if the public were stupid to invest, is contemptuous.
I have no respect for H and W; their form of 'entrepreneurship' is unwelcome and in a better regulated economy it wouldn't be allowed to happen.
How stupid must Richard Long be feeling, by the way. That's one career that's gone pfffitz.
Simon
November 25, 2009
I couldn't agree more, sorry for the beat up Claire but the key here is that there are 17,000 people out there, many of them retired who bought into a well positioned marketing effort built around heritage and trust, fronted by someone their generation held in high regard. Many of these people will be financially crippled, many of these people come from a time where respect and honesty were key principles. This business has been the chat around town for a long long time, its no surprise Hanover has gone just look into the line up of directors and CFO's that have come and gone, these boys have been a couple of cowboys masquerading as bankers. If H and W are sincere and have these balls you keep referring to then they should have the balls to sell up their ill gotten gains and bat up to go again in the world of business.
One last thing, where they got away with it was gaining the vote from their investors last year, if they hadn't they would have been investigated and this discussion would be about how many years they would be spending inside, and for what its worth I would think a few.