Insurance Ads done correctly ...

We've all seen boring insurance Advertisements. The lifeless acting, the annoying characters and jingles, impossible claims and useless details.... but every so often along comes a campaign that breaks the mould. State Insurance (New Zealand), along with the very capable talent at Colenso BBDO have just conceived what is being touted as the longest one-shot commercial in New Zealand history (90 seconds continuous filming) and featuring a memorable, if somewhat cheesy song from yesteryear that is far better than your average jingle.

This campaign wins our Editor's Pick of the week. Yes, even if it is for an Insurance company .....

Agency Focus: Strawberry Frog wins Emirates contract

Dubai Emirates is launching a major branding and marketing campaign that will promote the airline as a lifestyle proposition. The campaign will help the airline refine its image from just 'service' to a lifestyle brand..

The campaign will be launched next month - when the airline enters its new financial year - replacing its existing 'Keep Discovering' campaign that has been running for nearly a decade. "The new global campaign will focus on how Emirates is connecting people and cultures and creating relevant and meaningful experiences that are shaping the world," Sir Maurice Flanagan, executive vice-chairman of Emirates airline and Group said. "The key message is that through connecting people and cultures we connect people's hopes, dreams and aspirations." Last year Emirates hired Strawberry Frog as its lead communication agency. "Once you have a cultural movement you can do anything.

Previous campaigns have promoted the airline as a means of discovery, with strong links to iconic images of modern Dubai, but the new campaign is likely to extend this concept to a range of other services and goods.

In the fragmenting media scene, Strawberry Frog is an innovative global agency that develops strategic vision and creative solutions that create growth for our clients," the agency says on its website. Emirates spends 3 per cent of its revenue in communications and branding. Within three years Emirates will be the largest airline in the world. 

The campaign developed by the New York team of StrawberryFrog was designed to show Europeans how many 
jobs were created as a result of Emirates' largest orders for aircraft in aviation history. "In addition to creating the campaign created for Emirates, StrawberryFrog is responsible for developing their global brand and a stellar strategy platform and communications for the parent and sibling brands," the agency says. Explaining the shift, Flanagan said, the airline's Keep Discovering campaign has fulfilled its objectives.

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 

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.