Sponsors Wetspac attracted entries to the NZ Dairy Industry Awards with a newspaper ad appealing to the innate sense of style dairy farmers are renowned for.   And the creative culprits behind the ad, .99 have been rewarded for their efforts by taking out NAB’s Decemeber Newspaper Ad of the Month award.

Judges agreed “the ad made the subject interesting. With engaging copy and attention to detail, these guys cared about
what they were doing”

Credits for the December winner:

• ECD: Craig Whitehead
• CD: Paul Hankinson
• Head of Copy: Mark Easterbrook
• Head of Art: Nic Hall
• Art Director: Zac Lancaster
• Copywriter: Tom Cunliffe
• Designer: Jon Tricklebank
• Account Service: Kristyna Walters

DDB’s Rialto ‘King’s Speech’ ad was January’s Newspaper Ad of the Month winner. Dynamic duo Andy Fackrell and Toby Talbot came up with the innovative and highly amusing campaign. Which judges said was “So well written you wanted to keep reading, which is rare. The campaign thought is fresh, and we haven’t seen this idea before.”

Credits for the January winner:

• Creatives – Rory McKechnie and Damian Galvin
• Creative Directors – Chris Schofield and Regan Grafton
• Executive Creative Directors – Andy Fackrell and Toby Talbot
• Retoucher – Gordon Moir
• Suits – Danielle Richards, Brad Armstrong and Victoria Meo

December and January’s judges were Nicci Doak – M&C Saatchi, and Connan James – Whybin\TBWA.

December and January’s winning creative teams receive $250 cash each with the ads sponsored by the NAB into
the 2012 Axis Awards. The ads will also appear in the “What’s New” section of AdMedia and are now Finalists in the 2011/12 $10,000 Newspaper Ad of Year competition judged later this year. Any ad that’s run in any newspaper around the country is eligible to enter the competition. Email ideas@nabs.co.nz for competition details. To view all the Finalists in the current Newspaper Ad of the Year series visit the NAB website

Clemenger BBDO  managing director Andrew Holt told the NBR there were a number of redundancies after the agency lost the ACC business and Hales was unfortunately one of them.

M&C Saatchi’s chief executive Darryn Melrose said the hire was a further investment in the Wellington market.

“In the past year we’ve quadrupled our agency presence, with senior hires on the back of new business wins. We feel there is a lot of potential to grow further”.

He said Wellington was a key market for relationships.

“If you’ve got a great track record you’re really sought after in that  market, so for us it’s a really significant hire to make – that we could attract someone like him.”

He told the NBR he he knew how Hales worked, having worked with him in the past.

“There is a really strong fit around having a really strong sense of passion and drive that ‘This thing is going to provide the result’.”

What worked in Auckland did not necessarily work in Wellington, he said, and while it was a smaller market, there were more new business opportunities than in Auckland.

“Obviously I’m bias but I feel most of the other agencies are a little bit out of date with their business model, they’re still very traditional.”

Mr Melrose said in the Wellington market, with government and businesses, there was a big focus on really proving the dollars invested provided return, and this was not really being provided in Wellington.

Mr Hales said he had long thought it was time for the industry model to evolve and M&C Saatchi’s approach of brand, retail and digital expertise was what was needed.

“I can now be in a position to provide a range of skills and talent, depending on the client need.”

Favourite campaign that isn’t yours: The JK Depression stuff is fantastic. The Effies Call for Entries was great and I genuinely look forward to seeing new PAK’nSAVE ads. And I’m most definitely not trying to land a job at DraftFCB.


Favourite campaign that is yours: The fact that Maori Television blitzed the other channels with its Rugby World Cup coverage makes me incredibly proud. And I love our New Zealand Fire Service ‘Anthems’ radio ads. Listen to them here: NZF-60-2064[1] NZF-60-2062[1] NZF-30-2063[1] NZF-30-2061[1]

Least favourite campaign: 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Best brand: Sky. When Paul looked after it, the ads were great. And under Toby’s stewardship the greatness has continued, with the very odd exception.

Best stoush: I live in a bit of a bubble so only notice a stoush if I find myself yelling at someone or find someone yelling at me.

Heroes: Steve Cochran, Paul Hankinson and Regan Grafton. Three guys who have been responsible for making agencies and clients look great in New Zealand for years. They are also great people who don’t act superior or blow arse. Any young creative looking for inspiration should look no further than these guys.

Villains: The foreigners responsible for turning one of the world’s leading direct agencies into nothing more than a few pieces of tin on the side of a building.

Most memorable marketing moment: Nothing tops the Abstain for the Game incident. There are a bunch of creatives out there claiming they ‘weren’t’ in the room at the time, which is a bit of a rarity.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“[The Gulf Restoration Network] have been on the frontline of the BP oil disaster, which hit the Gulf of Mexico in 2010,” says Grant, who worked in Colenso’s creative department when Rich Maddox was executive creative director. “And, surprisingly they still have their work cut-out for them, and therefore the reason for this piece of work.”

Grant, who won the Fairfax Young Creatives competition in 2006, moved to Switzerland and took up a role with Saatchi & Saatchi before moving to M&C Saatchi Geneva, forever confusing everyone, especially his parents, about which Saatchi he in fact worked for.

“We were impressed with M&C Saatchi’s approach, creativity and strategy. We’re all about innovation, challenging the market, and M&C really showed they understood where we are coming from, and how to help drive our business forward.”

M&C Saatchi chief executive Darryn Melrose says, “We’ve admired the Orcon brand for a number of years now, so when we were asked to work on it we leapt at the chance.

“It’s rare you come across an organisation that gets innovation and keeps a focus on customer satisfaction, as well as having such a strong brand. We feel certain there is huge opportunity to help grow Orcon’s business.”

Incumbent agency DraftFCB, which launched a great campaign for Genius and took over from Special Group, resigned the account in October, reportedly to pitch for Vodafone.

M&C Saatchi will kick off its partnership with Orcon with a new campaign, scheduled to launch in the New Year.

Who’s it for: ASB by Droga5 and The Sweet Shop

Why we like it: It’s a good way to explain why ASB is better than its competitors. It’s got some added gravitas with the voice talent of Dame Judi Dench. And it’s a nice idea to try and give potential customers a chance to test drive a bank before they actually sign up with it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Why we like it: Quite possibly the best, most awkward use of dead air ever seen on New Zealand television. And a nice parody of the ‘non-threatening brand spokesperson’ too (here’s another ad for MySky that deserves a look).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Who’s it for: Canteen by M&C Saatchi, Flying Start and String Theory

Why we like it: Speaking of awkwardness, Canteen’s bandanna fundraiser ad has embraced that theme by running through a few more examples of uncomfortable time.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Why we like it: You can’t really go wrong when an ad features a radio controlled lawnmower, a gull-winged people mover, a very handy removable wall that offers bathroom/living room flow and a pimped out Kiwi burger.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

M&C Saatchi has been busy with its emergency services accounts this year, with a slightly controversial Police campaign after the earthquake that gained some international media attention and a very personal campaign for the Fire Service. And it’s continued that momentum with two more good efforts, one featuring a few well-lubricated folks at the end of a big night slurring away about the dangers of drinking and frying and another radio campaign to try and stop foreign visitors here for the RWC from having to call 111. 

All of the hearty revellers interviewed for the ‘Words from the Wise’ campaign had been drinking and were spotted eating on the street. So M&C Saatchi and production company Double Cove simply stopped to ask them this question: “What advice would they give to people in their state who are considering going home for a fry-up?”

“The answers were honest, slightly garbled and often hilarious,” says M&C Saatchi’s Darryn Melrose. “They’re real words from the wise, wise because they have chosen to get a feed before heading home. And they’re presented in a way that you won’t soon forget.”

Four 30” TVCs are being broadcast nationwide and shared on YouTube. And posters with real quotes from the panini advocates, pizza scoffers and kebab munchers also being installed around the country.

NZF-60-2064[1] NZF-60-2062[1] NZF-30-2063[1] NZF-30-2061[1]

In addition to the TV campaign, M&C has also got to work reminding the thousands of rugby fans from around the world, many of whom will be touring the country in campervans, of the hazards of drunk cooking and lighting candles with a few remixes of classic country hits.

One thing’s for sure: the local purveyors of fine takeaways will be loving the endorsement.

Credits for Words from the wise:

Agency: M&C Saatchi, New Zealand Client: New Zealand Fire Service Client Contact: Scott Sargentina Executive Creative Director: Dave King Art Director: James Bowman Copywriters: Nicci Doak & Amy Ivančić Account Director: Christina Mossaidis Account Executive: Lizzie Yates Producer: Terry Slade Baker Production Company: Double Cove Production Studio: Woody

Credits for radio campaign:

Client: Scott Sargentina, New Zealand Fire Service
Agency: M&C Saatchi, NZ
Executive Creative Director: Dave King
Concept: Nicci Doak, Dave King
Writer: Nicci Doak
Account Director: Christina Mossaidis
Producer: Terry Slade Baker
Production: Joel Haines

“We know you’re a creative bunch and like a bit of fun so we’re also challenging you to find the best rugbyism in the ad industry,” says Sarah Kenny, marketing manager, APN Online. “If you think yours is worthy of this accolade, drop us an email with your rugbyism and definition to nzherald@rugbydictionary.co.nz and you could win Friday drinks on us and kudos with your colleagues. Entries for the drinks shout close at 5pm, Wednesday 14 September.”

Entries for the big competition close on Sunday 9 October. And there are already some pretty good ones there. For example, The Saatchi & Saatchi: when your World Cup campaign ends before it’s even started; Dyslection: when you make the call to name Guildford over Sivivatu; and Whakas: a common term used to describe fans of the Wallabies.

Go on then, get cracking. And if you don’t win the big one, they’ve “got prizes coming out their cauliflower ears” so anyone who votes who is also in with a chance for some booty.

It used to be that everyone wanted to be like Saatchi & Saatchi. But, after the recent Telecom debacle, one agency has even resorted to taking out print ads out to ensure no-one gets confused. 

In today’s Herald, on the same page as a full run-down on the own goal, M&C Saatchi placed an ad that said:

Clarification. M&C Saatchi is not Saatchi & Saatchi.

We are the agency formed by Maurice and Charles Saatchi when they left Saathci & Saatchi over 15 years ago. We are also an agency that would never ask New Zealanders to abstain from sex during the Rugby World Cup, or any other time for that matter.

We wish the All Blacks every success and hope that every loving couple has a wonderful time during the six weeks and beyond.

Should your organisation want to start a loving relationship with a new agency, please call Darryn Melrose on 09 307 1166.

Melrose said the decision was made to run the ad because there was quite a bit of confusion yesterday, both from journalists and even among some of its own clients. He said some of the marketing teams had to defend them when management demanded they sack them for “doing that horrible campaign”.

“In this market there’s been a bit of confusion. And this is not a good week to be confused with them.”

He says it’s not about jumping on the bandwagon for or against, it’s part of a very clear objective to distance itself from Saatchi & Saatchi.

“We like to think we’re the real Saatchis,” he says.

Durex also added its name to the growing list of organisations trying to capitalise on the unfortunate campaign with a full page ad that featured in the same section. And Radiation’s Jill Brinsdon wasn’t backward in coming forward about her thoughts on the matter, likening Telecom to a recently divorced uncle who’s gone off the rails when she was interviewed on Breakfast this morning.

Reading almost like personalised letters, the ads engage with readers through a series of questions and statistical odds, rounded off with a nudge towards taking smoke alarm-installing action.

The ads are both interactive and blunt in their approach:

Nicola: That’s just spooky. Your name coming up like that…What are the odds?…Truth is Nicola, no-one ever expects their name to come up. Just like no one expects their number to come up. That’s why people die in house fires…”

And, as in the case of the Paul advert, nothing quite drives the point home like a bit of death-speak:

“Paul…what are the odds of dying in a fire tonight? You never leave the stove on…You probably think the chances of burning to death tonight are reasonably low. But then what were the odds that out of all the names in all the world, we would end up choosing yours?…”

Commenting on the campaign, which will be disseminated via adshel, newspaper and magazine media, M&C Saatchi say:

“Fire strikes randomly. No-one ever expects it. So we designed our ads to do the same. Each one ‘struck’ a single person. Paul. Or Nicola. Or Marama. Then we explained the chances of a fire occurring tonight were higher than the chances of their name coming up on the ad. So if one happened, and the chance of the other happening is more likely, they’d better install a smoke alarm. Pronto.”

But while the Fire Service campaign is in full swing in New Zealand, M&C Saatchi has been fielding interest from further abroad for another campaign it recently completed — this time to help drive  New Zealand police recruitment.

The campaign features street art by artist Otis Frizzell, who has taken spray paint to stencil to capture moments from real-life New Zealand police stories. Urban walls in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch have all received the stencil treatment.

The Christchurch site pays particular homage to the February earthquake and is located within a kilometer of the collapsed CTV building site. The stencil utilises existing concrete drip-marks to illustrate the tears of Constable Nao Yoshimizu who laid flowers on behalf of the families and stayed with them as they came to terms with their grief.

Wellington’s stencil treatment exists just outside of Cuba Mall. It depicts Detective Kylie Schaare standing protectively over a small child. At night, a menacing shadow hovers over the scene.

On the corner of K’ Road and Day streets in Auckland, a chase scene was created. This depicted the story of two female police officers, Constable Julia Vahry and Constable Madeline Roberts. The police officers are executing a perfect pincer move as the perpetrator runs into their well-laid trap.

Not everyone took to the stencil art too kindly however. Within a week of being unveiled in July, both faces of the officers in the Auckland stencil were tagged over with orange paint depicting the letters ACAB.

But that hasn’t stopped the campaign receiving interest from abroad. M&C Saatchi chief executive Darryn Melrose says leading German news website Spiegel Online has requested imagery of the campaign and a Swedish journalist has also showed interest.