A blog for the New Zealand creative advertising industry, now at www.campaignbrief.com/nz. Email news to: michael@campaignbrief.com

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...

Seeing the latest ANZ billboard executions makes me wonder if M&C
have had enough of the world's dullest advertising campaign, "Getting
to Know You".

First the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical number (WTF??) was amped to
the "Upbeat mix".

Then we had the billboards inviting us to drop in to the local bank
manager and talk about our feelings.

Now their billboards have gone for headlines in pale blue block caps
over a staff member's blue shirt. And they've buried the campaign
line -- "The more we know you, the better we can stitch you up", or
whatever -- at the base, in a size only marginally more prominent
than "Normal lending criteria apply".

But good on you M&C for doing the creative equivalent of holding a
pillow over this dreadful campaign's face. Maybe the client's holding
it too. After all, ANZ doesn't seem to be making much headway,
especially now the category seems to be awash in good creative
executions. So if the research suddenly starts suggesting the
campaign has no traction... Hey! Pack your bags, boys! Time to come
up with another Fiji-based concept!

Expensive way to spare someone's ego, though.

27 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jason Ross made a very good Nero.. watching M&C burn around him while playing the fiddle.

9:57 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I much prefer the art direction on the new stuff. They're doing a great job pushing that slippery poo up a steep hill with ye olde bendy stick.

S.

12:35 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"getting to know you so we can charge you more fee's". Thats the real picture...

Pretty easy to blame old jason...Ross the aussie battler... It's more like he played the fiddle with a shit band around him, who were to scared to stand up and be heard....

Ha ha...a least he saw through the shit band and moved on...

1:22 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's the most forced analogy I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

1:45 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"especially now the category seems to be awash in good creative
executions"

Huh?

Apart from kiwibank which is good (not great), what are you refering to?

1:49 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If in some way you're trying to tell us the BNZ campaign is a good one then you're horribly wrong.

To take that brand and break it so badly is unforgivable. It now looks like a savings bank for kiddies. What on earth must the business bankers and the rural bankers be thnking about their bank now?

I give it less than 18 months.

ps. anyone else seen the Visa ad with the same animated pink piggies? Hmmm.

2:13 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm, I think the piggies are a definite light mile ahead of the dross that was being done before. I'd be interested to know who the creative is that is talking like he/she's a planner.

2:24 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

writing...with lots...of three...point leaders...is that William Shatner?

2:32 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear clueless 1.22pm blogger, having worked with said Jason Ross, in all honesty, it is very easy to blame him. And so he should be blamed. Whilst charged with the job of 'creating' the ANZ brand campaign (admittedly, a cunt of a brief), Jason basically bent over and grabbed his ankles while the client directed its large penis straight up his sphincter. That guy wouldn't know how to stick up for a creative idea if his right bollock depended on it.
He was basically a scared bloke who had the client breathing down his neck together with Tom McFarlane in the Sydney office. On top of this, the hapless Jason had the terrible prospect of losing his $350,000k plus salary if the bank walked. But the bank didn't go - he did. And he didn't move on, he was pushed.

Now he's where he belongs - heading up a facelss retail monolith. Ah, don't you love a happy ending?

So, sweet 1.22pm blogger, best you get back to your Mother's Day Farmers brief and spare a thought for the poor fuckers who still have to work on ANZ.

2:46 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

reading the latest post it looks like the band are starting to stand up..good on you chaps.

Good on 1.22 for flushing them out.

Now we know the full story.

Great peice blogging.

3:24 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What's 'peice blogging'?

3:34 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I remember when Jason Ross made Corey spunk on his asschecks in front of a DB client while David Rhoades sat in the corner playing with himself. It was a strange time at M&C.

4:05 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I remember Jason Ross telling me he wanted to shag me because he was so excited about an idea I came up with.
I'm a guy and the idea wasn't that great.

4:30 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ross/ Nro. Two guys that like to fiddle by themselves.

4:54 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another Jason Ross anecdote...

(hand on my shoulder) sometimes, a pun is just right.

6:06 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I will say this though, when the chips were down he cared about the right things, i.e. when my dad was in hospital he told me drop your work and get going.

6:08 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's a pleasure, really. I have plenty more home truths that may eventually find their way onto this blog.

8:49 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ANZ is a horrible bank. Their branches are sterile and cold and their tellers are behind plexiglass.

The 'know all about you' slogan is more fitting in a TUI ad.

9:53 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Which brings us to why M&C lost Tui (and subsequently the entire DB portfolio).

11:42 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Which brings me to who's worse, Jason Ross or Gordon Clarke?

9:47 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gordon Clarke is wayyyyy worse than Jason Ross! JR may have been a dick, but he wasn't a c*nt! (Mostly). I would say Clarke barely qualified as a human being in my experience.

The 2.46 blogger is bang on the truth too.

Also, M&C lost Tui due to DB politics and its new yarpie (spelling? slang for South African) CEO. As far as Export Gold, what a massive pain in the ass account, mostly due to 'the muppets' in its marketing dept. People slag the firemen ads but at least Saatchi got something made that wasn't just a big closeup of beer pouring.

Rant rant rant.

Ex M&C guy.

8:21 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

All hail 2.46.

11:28 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

2.46 for president!

12:04 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

2.46 - Peoples' Poet

12:05 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear 8.21,

'Cunt' is spelled with a 'u' not an asterisk.

12:38 pm NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

'2.46pm for Prez'. I like that. Perhaps I should print my own
t-shirt.

Yes, the ex-M&C blogger is right about the South African twat who fucked us over. Never trust a yarpie with a half-mullet.

As you were.

11:12 am NZST

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ANZ - shit bank, shit work, nothing agency can do though - all decided by Australian cunts before the brief even gets here. Blame that bearded cock in Sydney.

Jason versus Gordon - Gordon by a mile, both completely useless but Jason could be nice occasionally.

DB - fucked beer run by humourless cunts worried about their jobs, no idea of what their brand really is or who drinks any beer anywhere, any time. It's all shit anyway we should drink RTD's. Sweet ones.

7:34 pm NZST

 

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