What do you get when you mix a bizarre selection of celebrities who have nothing in common with each other and a Gin Wigmore track? It’s an Air New Zealand safety video! And James Mustapic is here to rank them from worst to best. Watch Friday’s episode of The Spinoff TV in full here. Thanks … Read more
From the Big Save lady, to ASB’s Goldstein, to a very young Taika Waititi selling sweets – these are the TV ads that made James Mustapic the man he is today. Watch Friday’s episode of The Spinoff TV in full here. Thanks to NZ on Air
You’ve seen the terrible ads, now it’s time you see the terrible complaints. With crimes ranging from blasphemy and bad timelines to ‘the homosexual agenda’, we present a small selection of the most entertaining complaints that have been dismissed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) so far this year. People love to complain, and sometimes … Read more
A Christchurch racing club is offering ‘kiddie picks’, where children bet on the horses and get lollies if they pick a winner. Inspired, The Spinoff TV’s Hayden Donnell got to work on his own R18 product for kids. The Spinoff TV, Fridays 9.45pm on THREE
Is it a real estate ad if you see more of the Dancing with the Stars judges than you see of the house? Our DWTSNZ power-ranker Sam Brooks investigates. I remember the old days, when people used to look at pictures of houses in the newspaper and then go along to open homes and hope the house … Read more
Facebook knows everything about you, and by extension, so do a million marketers and corporations. And now so do I. Eighteen months ago, in a sudden fit of self-importance, I decided it was time to get myself a Facebook ‘brand’ page. That way I could share some of my blog posts and journalism with whomever … Read more
New Zealand’s blue-chip business newspaper is these days chiefly an online operation, and its owner has plans to boost the subscriber base to 100,000. Against a backdrop of social media grenades and staff disquiet, Spinoff business editor Rebecca Stevenson talks to the NBR’s outspoken head honcho Todd Scott. Todd Scott is a truculent tweeter, taking … Read more
For the greater good of television, three industry heavyweights put their differences aside for the launch of research and advocacy group ThinkTV in New Zealand. Jihee Junn tags along to see what the fuss is all about. It’s not every day you have the heads of New Zealand’s three biggest TV providers on stage at … Read more
Inspired by the controversy over Facebook’s exploitation of users’ personal information, four Spinoff staffers downloaded their data. Here’s what they found. After revelations that 50 million Facebook users had their personal information improperly obtained by data mining company Cambridge Analytica, Wellington software developer Dylan McKay downloaded his Facebook data, and found some personal information he believes … Read more
Kiwi brands like Tip Top and Montana might improve their bottom line by sourcing products from overseas, but they risk losing their customers’ trust for good, writes marketing lecturer Sharon Forbes. New Zealand’s reputation as a food exporter is based on branding around consistent quality and safety of New Zealand-made products. However, recent stories relating … Read more
At-home dad Adam Mamo is sick of advertising around parenting brands. Why, he asks, does everything have to be so gendered? Being a new parent is stressful, and becoming a fresh target for incessant parent-focused advertising only makes it more so. The very worst ads try to cultivate fears about your child’s health and development, … Read more
Tara Ward witnesses Suzanne Paul do something extraordinary — not for the first time and not for the last time. Someone alert the authorities because there’s a genius in my living room and her name is Suzanne Paul. I thought I’d seen it all when Suzanne Paul sold a clip that could jazz up your outfit … Read more
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is the star of Arnott’s latest ad and film campaign. Madeleine Chapman attended the premiere and still doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be. Something big is happening at Arnott’s. In August they released two “trailers” to a supposed real-life film starring notorious great-but-boring person Steve Hansen in a quest … Read more
Despite 30 years of relentless sales, the Briscoes Lady remains as energetic and positive as ever. Tara Ward tries to figure out why. New Zealanders can always be certain of three things – the prime minister cursing the All Blacks, Mike Hosking wearing ripped jeans and Briscoes having a sale. As we know, a Briscoes sale … Read more
The Advertising Standards Authority and Broadcasting Standards Authority have both dismissed a complaint against National’s ‘Let’s Tax This’ ad. Lawyer Steven Price, who advised on the complaint, explains why he thinks they got it seriously wrong. When I first saw the National Party’s blatantly misleading ‘Let’s Tax This’ ad, I thought: the Advertising Standards Authority would … Read more
Lucy Zee pours a cup of tea and delves into the creepy slow-burn that is the Chanui ad universe. Can we just all agree straight away: the Chanui ads are really fucking weird. Basically it’s just a guy telling us to buy his tea and about three people seemingly held at gunpoint telling the camera … Read more
Lucy Zee counts the many ways the Transforma Ladder infomercial impressed audiences everywhere, from its multitude of uses to its dapper salesman. Imagine you’re a kid, home alone, feeling smug because you managed to convince your parents that you were too sick to go to school today. Jokes on you, because your brother locked the … Read more
As Bill English and Jacinda Ardern battled it out during TVNZ1’s debate last night, Emily Writes was left extremely confused by a sexy candy ad. I never watch free-to-air television on an actual television. I’m not sure why in 2017 you would. So last night’s TVNZ leader’s debate was the first time in a long … Read more
It contains one of the most memorable lines in New Zealand advertising, but what else went into making the iconic Vogel’s O.E. ad? Maha Albadrawi, with help from Lucy Zee, investigates. As a kid, I watched a lot of TV. I still do, really, only now we call it ‘consuming content’ and it can be done … Read more
New Zealand’s unlikeliest spokesmodel is at it again, fronting a strangely timely apocalypse-themed ad campaign for Arnotts. But what other products should Steve Hansen put his unique talents behind? Lucy Zee has some suggestions. Some of you might know Steve Hansen as the All Blacks coach who led us to victory at the last Rugby … Read more
Not content with plastering billboards and bus stations in the real world, fast food giant Wendy’s are inserting themselves inside virtual worlds too. It’s a trend that makes Don Rowe feel nauseous. Anyone halfway familiar with the term microtransaction is well aware that many of the entities which slither about the swamp we call the … Read more
Everyone loves a nostalgia trip, remembering a time when the world wasn’t melting so fast. Join Lucy Zee as she looks back at the white guys who once were on New Zealand TV way too much. Imagine a world without white men. Well for starters, New Zealand would have hardly any television commercials. My parents … Read more
From House of Cards’ sinister trumpets to The Fresh Prince’s iconic rap, TV theme tunes are powerful signifiers and also, just occasionally, standalone hits superior even to the show they prelude. Elizabeth Beattie examines five of New Zealand’s television theme songs to sift the cultural gold from the mud. We can tell a lot about … Read more
After noticing that something strange has happened to Lily from Big Save Furniture, Tara Ward delves into her rich, loud, bargain-filled history. Breaking news, New Zealand: something terrible has happened to Big Save Lily. You’ll need to sit down on your corner lounge suite for this one, because Lily’s legendary Big Save Furniture ads are … Read more
Tara Ward does the unthinkable: turning on her television and looking for nothing but sweet, sweet ads. Television advertisments are often overlooked and misunderstood — until now, my friends. I love a challenge like I love a Coronation Street weekend omnibus, so when someone suggested I spend an entire day watching only commercials, I was … Read more
‘Business is Boring’ is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon is back in the very warm Spinoff studios talking … Read more
This Bib edition is a chance to chat to a fellow who is extraordinarily influential internationally around a number of topics that this podcast is all about –innovation and creativity. If we’re going to get past growing trees, cows shitting in rivers and chasing sheep around we’re going to have to think our way out … Read more
Which of the mayoral candidates have the most effective hoardings, and what hidden meanings do they reveal? The Spinoff’s chief billboard semiotics correspondent, Toby Manhire, reports. It’s just like Christmas but without anything remotely joyful. All across the country, the mugs of the brave individuals hoping to represent their communities in local body politics have … Read more
With a bit of luck, the response to Saatchi guru Kevin Roberts’ brain-fart suggests off-the-cuff bullshit about women in business won’t be tolerated so easily any more, writes Michele A’Court On Saturday, Business Insider (Australia) published an interview with Kevin Roberts, Saatchi & Saatchi’s Executive Chairman and Head Coach at the advertising agency’s parent company, … Read more