Thinkerbell Aotearoa NZ

Throwback Thursday: The time we were too effective for our own good. Every Thursday, I dig into the archives for work that actually moved the dial, not the glossy fluff made to inflate a showreel. Remember that NZ Police video I shared a while back? It generated a month’s worth of applications in 24 hours and a 600% spike in diverse applicants. Lovely. Except the Police recruitment team was tiny, and we’d completely overwhelmed them. What they actually needed was a steady, sustained pipeline, not a stampede. So, back to the drawing board. Rather than sitting in the agency, @Wendy Schrijvers, Ben Fielding and I got off our bums and drove out to a North Shore station to talk to actual recruits to find a new insight. Sitting around the table, a proper insight emerged - every single recruit had a relative or mate on the force. They could pick up the phone, ask the dumb questions, and figure out if they’d fit in before applying. The problem? If you were Māori, Pasifika, or female, you were far less likely to know a cop like you. To reduce this barrier, we created Chat Cops, an interactive platform on the New Cops site that connected potential recruits with real officers from similar backgrounds. No corporate fluff. Just honest, unfiltered answers. We launched with another viral film, packed it with charm, and threw in a few dogs (if it works, keep doing it). We were on a shoestring budget, trying to cram a ton of setup into two manic shoot days. If you watch the scene with the police negotiator, you’ll notice it’s bloody dark. That wasn't a creative choice, we’d literally run out of daylight and were running out of time! Brought to life by Lisa, Jonno, director Damien Shatford, and EP Ben Dailey, the campaign smashed records once again, delivering a sustainable pipeline for the Police without overloading their systems. Shout out to all the clever humans that helped make this happen (sorry if I missed someone) Cinematographer: Andrew Stroud Composer: Peter Van der fluit, Sound Design: Craig Matuschka, Client team: Deputy Chief Executive Public Affairs: Karen Jones Strategic Communications Manager: Jane Archibald Senior Marketing Advisor: Helen Flannery Agency team: Creative Team: Sam Henderson, Kent Briggs Agency Producer: Steen Bech Account Director: Cristina Opferkuch Editors: Ben Marshalll, Martin Spencer,

Throwback Thursday: The time we had to make the client cry to buy our ad. I’m digging into the archives every week to look at work that actually shifted product, rather than the glossy stuff that only exists to look pretty on an agency showreel. First up: Sealord Group Ltd’s - Be Like a Fish. Back when I was running the creative department at Ogilvy, Richard Loseby and I were tasked with proving that eating fish and living an active lifestyle was good for you. We were working with Sarah Sandoval and Melissa Butler, two of the sharpest marketers in the business. Sarah and I were both disciples of Byron Sharp, Mark Ritson and Peter Field, firm believers in building distinctive brand assets. We pitched a mountain of scripts. Sarah listened patiently, then threw down the gauntlet: "I want to feel something powerful. I'll know the right ad when it makes me cry." Richard and I looked at each other. Right. No pressure. I’ve always believed in the power of emotion. If you can make someone genuinely laugh or cry in 60 seconds, you’ve pulled off a bit of magic that sticks in the brain. But after several failed attempts to make her weep, we were the ones close to tears. Then we landed on a story about a father and daughter. We pitched it, Sarah welled up, and we had our winner. To make emotion land, you need time. You can do it in 30 seconds, but 60 is the sweet spot for a launch to cement the story before you drop back to shorter lengths. To pull it off, we hired director Rob Sarkies from WAITEMATA FILMS LIMITED, who is a master at pulling out authentic performances. The problem? The production cost was more than Sealord had in the kitty. We believed in the idea so much that we did something rare for an agency - we put a chunk of our fee on the line, tied to campaign performance. To drive product-specific sales, we shot a series of 15 second spots extending the father-daughter narrative. Across the entire campaign, we built a distinctive brand character, launched a new audio mnemonic thanks to Liquid Studios, and embedded iconic Sealord blue throughout. So, does emotion sell? You bet. We smashed Sealord’s forecasts, took home Effies, and I’m pleased to say we collected the rest of our fee. (And of course, a huge shout-out to all the other talented humans who touched this campaign to help bring it to life!)