Over the weekend I joined up with a freeze flash mob raising awareness of the sex trafficking trade and calling for an end to the practice.
The protest was organised by Adrian Greenwood from the More Praxis network, an expression of the Uniting Church in Australia, Victoria/Tasmania Synod. Many of the participants were attending the Forge Grassroots Festival. The idea was for a group to freeze on cue for five minutes, while pedestrians walked past, stopped and stared, or took brochures. It’s designed to be a non violent, viral kind of exercise that invites others to engage in their own way.
Interestingly enough the photograph here shows a freeze flash mob outside The Body Shop. Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, was a strong advocate for the introduction of a new European convention against the trafficking of human beings.
This YouTube clip was prepared by Darren Wright, who while freezing in Bourke St had his camera on rapid photography mode.
ASB’s campaign to launch pago in New Zealand has received a number of top-ranking awards in Cannes this last week.
The pago campaign has received five honours at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival including a Grand Prix. The Festival is regarded as the most preeminent international advertising festival, this year attracting 25,000 entries received from 80 countries. pago was awarded a Media Grand Prix in the ‘Financial Products & Services’ category; a Bronze Media Lion in the ‘Best Use of Ambient Media: Small Scale’ category; another Bronze Media Lion in the ‘Use of Mixed Media’ category; a Bronze Direct Lion in the ‘Alternative Media’ category for the pago Money Sticker; and a Promo Lion in the ‘Best Integrated Promotional Campaign’ category. The campaign is also shortlisted in the Titanium and Integrated Lions awards.
“We are absolutely rapt”, says Peter Muggleston, Group Manager ASB Online & Info Services, ASB. “This is a massive achievement for our campaign and it’s fantastic to be recognised on the global stage.”
The most striking feature of the “Money Goes Digital” campaign was tiny ads stuck on genuine banknotes as peel-off stickers. The NZ$5 note was stickered and seeded into circulation at the Big Day Out and key youth retailers. Using hypertag and bluetooth technology festival punters could download free money vouchers to their mobile phone. The stickers were attached with permission from the New Zealand Reserve Bank and Sir Edmund Hillary, the NZ icon whose face is on the five dollar note.
The campaign team commissioned NZ artist Maurice Bennett to create a mural at Britomart, the Auckland Central train station, using 30,000 Post-It notes to represent a pixilated five dollar banknote. Commuters were able to help themselves to the post-it notes. Bennett is known as the ‘Toastman’ for his ambient art using pieces of toast.
Launched in New Zealand in November 2006, pago is a new payment service, allowing money to be sent from one person to another using their mobile phones or email. The pago service is available to people with a mobile phone or e-mail address who also have a New Zealand bank account which is accessible online.
The pago campaign was developed at TBWA/Whybin, Auckland, by executive creative director Andy Blood, art director Karen Maurice-O’Leary, copywriter Verity Butt, group account director Sarah Goldring, account manager Tracey Hazelwood.
The Whybin/TBWA team, in their submission to Cannes, describe the ASB project as beginning with a dream brief. ASB demanded and (research supported) non-conventional advertising. The prospect target was defined as ‘Digital Natives’ - a tech savvy youth audience. Although highly cynical of conventional marketing messages, they are captivated by innovation and digital development. The strategy was to capture attention through new technology and media innovation reflective of the Pago brand. The media solution discovers new touch points and embodies genuine media innovation.
The team at OMD New Zealand, responsible for media buying, included business director Rebecca Houston, media planner/buyer, Will Douglas and media buyer Chloe Hardy.
I’ve just had a Skype call from Carlos Mora, the guy who raps in Spanish in the Pepsi Samba TV ad with the dancing legs. I’d had an email from Eden, the Song Zu composer responsible for the music, alerting me to the release of the music ‘Asereko’ as a single this week. So I wrote it up at Duncan’s TV Adland.
Carlos grew up in Glebe, Sydney, gaining experience as a choir boy and a punk drummer before going to Cuba to learn the congas. He gave me the lyrics to the new single, some background on his musical influences (Afro Cuban rap and Latin jazz), and a link to his band’s web site.
It’s good being part of the ’spicy tossed leaf salad’ multicultural Australia as opposed to the ‘melting pot’ assimilation version.
I’ve just had a Skype call from Carlos Mora, the guy who raps in Spanish in the Pepsi Samba TV ad with the dancing legs. I’d had an email from Eden, the Song Zu composer responsible for the music, alerting me to the release of the music ‘Asereko’ as a single this week. So I wrote it up at 
