Selling New Zealand: the Language of Advertising

The Seventies

Framegrab, Gregg's Coffee: Different Faces

Gregg's Coffee: Different Faces, Pacific Films, 1970
Shows a multi-cultural New Zealand, (the first New Zealand television commercial to do so). A variety of New Zealanders walk down city streets. A scholarly socially sophisticated guy watches them from his balcony. Most sixties ads avoided the ordinary as examples for product association, favouring blond hair, perfect teeth etc. This advertisement series was highly successful for the company profits – indicating an untapped association which appealed to New Zealanders. Note also the theme song rather than a jingle – designed to stick in the memory.

• Cultural acceptance
• Theme song for memorability.

Framegrab, National Party of New Zealand: Superannuation

National Party of New Zealand: Superannuation, Colenso, 1975
An animated sequence from a sophisticated political advertising series criticising the Labour Party’s superannuation policies (a man dodging a noose). Suggests that Labour’s tax policies are verging on communism – shows dancing Russian Cossacks. The animation came from Hanna Barbara (Fred Flinstone et al) in the days before legislation limited the $$ allowed.

• Syntax – minor sentences: "…anything. Ever."
• Personal pronouns – "…our pay packets…"
• Use of colour – red
• Symbolism – the fabulous dancing Cossacks, the Hangman’s noose!

Framegrab, Chesdale Cheese: Ches n' Dale

Chesdale Cheese: Ches n' Dale, [197-]
First colour version of the legendary animated characters and their famous jingle. Superimposing the animation over reality shots is a variant in long running advertising programme.

• Clever (for the time) animation
• Catchy theme tune

Framegrab, Little Lucifer Firestarters

Little Lucifer Firestarters, Charles Haines, 1974
The devil personally recommends Little Lucifer Fire Starters, after a million years in the business. Using an understood image to garner authority and attention. Humour also an important device.

• Celebrity endorsement!
• The Promise – "Your troubles are over"
• Alliteration – "Safe sure-fire start"

Framegrab, Morrison Golden Rotary Lawnmowers

Morrison Golden Rotary Lawnmowers: Makes Lawn Easy, Pacific Films, 197-

People wearing matching brown and yellow T-shirts push Masport mowers in formation.

• Colour association – lots of gold. Associated with winning, winners etc. Use these lawnmowers and you’ll be a winner
• “More and more folks…” says the soundtrack – and we are shown a range of folks from different walks of life (although if you look closely there isn’t much of a range of ethnicity) – suggests wide appeal of product
• Everyone is happy – what a great mower! People working together suggests positive connotations of teamwork etc.
• Overhead shot of song and dance number – almost looks like a religious ritual/Julie Andrews movie
• Alliteration – “Mow Morrison. Makes Lawn Easy.”
• Imperative – “Mow Morrison…”

Framegrab, Rheem Hot Water Systems

Rheem Hot Water Systems, Ogilvie & Mather, 1977

Humour again to the fore - a man’s shower is brutally disrupted when his wife purposely turns on a laundry tap.

• Use of humour – a "typical domestic scene"?
• Adjectival intensifiers – "strong and even from every tap."

Framegrab, Cadbury’s Crunchie: Gold Rush

Cadbury’s Crunchie: Gold Rush, Colenso/Tony Williams, 198-

“Have a Crunchie, hokey pokey bar. Crazy Crunchie hokey pokey bar.”
Wacky train robbery in which everyone, including German soldiers, policeman, cowboys and granny try to get hold of the crunchie bars.

• One of the best-loved Kiwi ads of all time. Catchy tune – banjo plucking that would make Billy Connolly proud.
• Stock western character types we can identify with – cowboys, pious looking priest, lady, old man etc. But an Arab?
• A bit Blazing Saddles – German soldiers, modern-day policeman, and the Arab – i.e characters ‘across’ time and setting.
• ‘Priest’ rips off collar and pulls double-barrelled Crunchie – “fill ‘em full of choc”
• Archival footage/homage to old westerns – Injuns attacking train
• Granny oblivious to the whole thing – concentrating on her knitting. The unlikely hero.
• Slogan – “Join the Gold Rush” – pun. Gold rush associated with cowboy times – the Crunchie is obviously treasure
• Imperative and appeal to get involved – “Join the …”
• Use of humour – this ad was one of the first really watchable Kiwi ads and it’s mainly because of the humorous narrative: train hold-up for Crunchie bars, old dear wins the day etc.

Framegrab, BASF tapes: Dear John

BASF tapes: Dear John, Tony Williams Productions, 197-
A soldier receives a tape from his girlfriend and presumes it contains a love message. The whole camp is moved to tears when he plays it. Uses a well-known chart song to enhance the audience pick up. The imagery borrows the popularity of the top rating TV series MASH (so much so that the first two names on the mail call – O’Reilly, Pierce – were MASH characters) for its visual theme, and even dips into a Humphrey Bogart line for good measure. Relying on these it cuts the actual branding time to a few silent seconds – early attempts at subtlety. Filmed at Red Rocks on the South Wellington coast. Brilliant.

• Antithesis – "Even the bad times sound good."
• Catchy tune – memorable
• Appeals to sympathy for the main ‘character’
• The MASH reference – popular acceptance

Framegrab, Kentucky Fried Chicken

Kentucky Fried Chicken: Hugo, Colenso, 197-

Animation. A family driving with two children in the back of the car are watched by the animals and birds. Dad stops the car and Hugo goes into KFC for dinner.

• Image of family – nuclear family, parents stop the car and buy Kentucky Fried to keep the kids happy. Often with ads that present an image of the family the product being advertised is shown as important to the welfare and happiness of the family.
• A healthy meal – “feeling better inside”, “A drive isn’t funny with an empty tummy, thank goodness for Kentucky Fried!” How times have changed. Kentucky Fried changed to KFC to drop the word ‘fried’ and its negative dietary connotations.
• Apropos of that – the kids are definitely not “getting thinner” as the song says.
• Animation and ‘cutesy’ appeal of animals for the kids
• Catchy-ish theme tune, rhyme etc. The “Hugo said you go” line even features in Kiwi poet Glenn Colquhoun’s The party (The Art of Walking Upright), a poem with many references to popular culture.
• The car and animals bounce in time to the music. Perhaps not relevant in the slightest, but there you go.

Framegrab, Pear's Baby Shampoo: Helps take out Tangles too

Pear's Baby Shampoo: Helps take out Tangles too, [1978]
A little girl on a couch speaking like a little toddler says why she now likes having her hair washed. Lots of blond hair and soft imaging. Recurring themes, even if in and out of fashion, continue on in some form. You will still find physical or sexual or gender associations repeated in times when they're less socially appropriate, perhaps with an adjustment in style, or submerged in a different narrative etc.

• Emotionally toned words – "cried", "hurt" compares to "safe"
• Alliteration – "Takes out tangles, too"

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