Easter Madness: When Historical Events have Social Media Pages

Following the hilarious and hugely successful campaign using fake Facebook pages to represent historical events and figures (as seen here ), the concept appears to have popped up again in the annual showdown between Good and Evil that occurs in downtown Auckland.

The latest TBWA Agency offering shows the Crucifixion as a Facebook shared Image with one "like" by Judas.

Those of you living outside of New Zealand or unaware of the regular showdowns that occur at Saint Matthew's in the City may be surprised to know that these adverts are actually sponsored "as thought-provoking messages with the aim of inspiring healthy debate and reflection", by the Church itself !

The self-proclaimed progressive Anglican Church in the heart of Auckland City is not one to shy away from controversy, posting a picture of the Virgin Mary looking at the results of a pregnancy test in the run up to Christmas last year.

Campaign: The Great Wine Depression

".....Back in '87 everything was big. Big hair, big sweaters and one big problem. Wine was in and beer was out. Kiwi guys pretended to like wine to fit in, but they never stopped thinking about beer. Luckily neither had Morton Coutts of DB Breweries. Morton figured if guys were drinking wine to appear more sophisticated, he'd brew a more sophisticated beer. A premium lager that was both crisp & refreshing, but still full of flavour. He called this beer Export Dry. 25 years later, guys can still say no to wine thanks to Export Dry..."

This recently aired and ongoing tongue-in-cheek campaign is beginning to ruffle a few feathers among wine producers and consumers who have failed to see the funny side of the kitsch 80s themed commercial. Whichever group you most identify with, the fact remains that it is a superbly produced TV spot. Early data 

Tech: Brand Matchup - iPads and Jetstar

Jetstar launches in-flight iPads

Jetstar has announced the roll-out of 3000 Apple Pad 1 and Pad 2s across its fleet, with more to be released once the tablets are installed throughout the Jetstar Asia network.  The devices will be available on flights longer than two hours for a fee of between SAU1O ($NZ13) and $AU1S ($NZ19.50).  The units will come pre-loaded with music, TV shows and music videos, games, ebooks and magazines, accessible through a custom-built Jetstar app, and will include locally produced content.

The Pads have been modified in several ways to make them suitable for the cabin environment. Each device will come in a custom case that prevents users from accessing the home button and the sync cable, ensuring that Jetstar settings are maintained and users are unable to upload their own content.  

Green Marketing: Biofuel News Update

Cooking oil flight ready for take-off 

Qantas will run two biofuel flights next month powered by a mixture of recycled cooking oil from commercial kitchens and jet fuel that emits 60 per cent less carbon dioxide. The A330 flight will go from Sydney to Adelaide and return on Friday, April 13. The fuel will be supplied by Dutch company SkyNRG. The recycled cooking oil comes from restaurants in the US and is further refined and fully certified for use in commercial aviation and endorsed by the World Wildlife Fund.

Virgin Australia is moving ahead with plans to source and refine aviation fuel from WA mallee trees. European plane maker Airbus is joining this effort, which also involves US giant General Electric and Australia’s Future Farm Industries CRC. The project aims to have an alternative fuel production pilot plant operating in Australia within the next year.

Public Service Communications

The latest NZTA campaign is perhaps not as exciting as eggs driving around like lunatics and cracking their heads open (Eggs Campaign). It is, however, a fine example of spreading an important message to as wide an audience as possible and making it seem simple enough for all of us to understand.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the pecularities of driving in New Zealand, we can summarise it like this: just like the eccentric Brits, we drive on the wrong side of the road and have spent the last few decades thinking up odd rules to relieve non-existent traffic congestion that puzzles the hell out of everyone (tourists and residents alike) and often leads to much arm-waving and swearing. All that is about to change, because on the 25th March, those same puzzling "right of way" rules will be banished, to be replaced with....another set of puzzling rules.

Brands: Latest Shifts (Retail)

Some Brands are winning over consumers, but are they providing real value?

 Everyone agrees that Brand equity is something precious to hold on to and can sometimes help you ride out the rough times, but in times of crisis it is also true that our fickle consumers will become treacherous and turn their backs on their favourite product, in search of a cheaper or fresher looking.alternative.

In a recent Bigger Picture Market survey, some of the shifts in New Zealand's Brand Leaders and Losers have come as somewhat of a surprise in a country that relentlessly adores home brands and shuns outsiders, and does so in a consistent manner - year in, and year out.

Take, for example, The Warehouse - "Where everyone gets a bargain". Back in 2005, when I last visited these shores, The Warehouse was best known for selling "cheap and cheerful" goods (to be polite). Walk into any of their glistening red warehouses today and you'll be met with...yes, you guessed it: "cheap and cheerful" goods again. Surely a successful model that has stood the test of time? 

Well...yes and no. This latest survey actually ranks the country's largest listed retailer well behind many of its competitors when it comes to delivering value. Market Research firm Big Picture surveyed 300 New Zealand consumers last week, asking them to rate 44 well-known brands in terms of their value.

Green Branding Featurette

This is a fine example of screaming about your green & sustainable credentials in a far more subtle and believable way.



Using an almost perfect balance of story-telling and brand association, this short story delivers a message that has been described as bold, delightful and provocative at once. To quote the resident expert and Editor at Idealog, the charming Esther Goh, this is "Marketing that doesn't bash you over the head" which we tend to agree stands a much better chance at going viral.

EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD: "Corona" - summer, advertised properly

As the Southern Hemisphere wonders where its summer went, and Northern climes start the long hard trek to elevated temperatures, we return to cover one of the best artistic pleasures of the summer advertising season, and yes....it is a beer commercial !

One of the Billboard Images used perfect positioning of the corona to shine above the rest

The real beauty of this campaign can only really be appreciated if you are lucky to see one of these billboards out in the open. What amazed me was how well the "corona" of the sun actually blends in with the real world. For example, on sunny days or at sunset, it really looked like a TV screen, and on grey days, the corona almost "shone" out of the billboard as if it was lit.

NABS Highly Recommended Entries - PRINT

The simple but very effective BP Print Ad - Great timing, good use of Brand associated colours and general simplicity

The judges also highly commended an ad that grabbed their attention: BP's Leap Day from "99" Agency: "The strength of this ad was down to its pure simplicity - 3 words to say it all, resulting in a 'clear stand-out factor'."

NABS Monthly Winning Entries - PRINT

The Tui Ad appeared across various newspapers inviting readers to cut and fold for a novel gift

The judges agreed that it showed "great use of the medium and was interactive" and that it "spoke nicely to the immediacy of newspapers".

The end result - a bunch of Roses

Winner Credits:

Executive Creative Director: Antonio Navas

Creatives: JP Twaalfhoven, Brad Collett, Slade Gill, Adam Thompson

Group Account Director: Mark Cochrane

Account Director: Natalie Downes

Clients: Tui Brewery Ltd: Jarrod Bear, William Papesch, Clare Morgan