The Year in Review: Simon Lendrum
Simon Lendrum took over as the managing director of JWT in 2010 after a long stint at Ogilvy and, with solid campaigns for Ford and PlaceMakers this year, a freshly renovated office and a new creative director at the helm, there’s some excitement afoot. Here’s what he thought about 2011.
Favourite campaign that isn’t yours: 
Ghost Chips. Hands down winner for me. My house is often full of 17 year old boys, and they can all recite it word for word. It’s sublimely crafted – the copy, the direction, even the sound design. It gives the target audience a language to use that makes it okay to challenge a friend. Well done to all.
Favourite campaign that is yours: 
PlaceMakers One News sports idents. Firstly, it’s our first fresh work for PlaceMakers, so I’m proud of it for that alone. But more importantly, it’s a lovely campaign. It’s simple, relevant, and well executed, all the things that sponsorship idents should be.
Least Favourite Campaign: ‘Deck the halls with value’…. Every time I pass a Vodafone billboard something inside me dies a little. This smells of booking the media before you realise you’ve got nothing to say. A generic value message, linked to Christmas. That’ll get them through the doors. Or not.
Best Brand: I’ve got a few personal gripes with Air New Zealand so it hurts me to say it, but as far as innovation goes, no-one can get close. Re-designing the planes, making your Airpoints card do handstands, they’ve done it all [Ed. they've also got one of the world's best YouTube channels]. They’ve got their finger on the pulse too. They might even give me a status upgrade for making this positive comment about them online, so an easy winner in this category.
Best Stoush: New Zealand versus Adidas. Oops.
Heroes: Whoever suggested Sky should launch SOHO. My DVD box set purchases have taken a hit. Someone deserves a pay rise.
Villains: The England Rugby Team. Made me proud to have moved to New Zealand.
Most memorable marketing moment: Telecom. Pink Fist. It certainly got lots of free PR. Shame some of our industry wielded their knives with such glee.
What do you think?