TV2’S MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
Advertising for a Mission Impossible movie screening on TV2 tonight took on its own mission impossible twist this week with a campaign involving a rival TV network and wild animals.
In the early hours of yesterday morning, a giant billposter advertising Mission Impossible 3 was plastered over the front windows of rival network TV3 headquarters in Auckland. The billposter, reading: “Mission Objective: advertise this movie in enemy territory”, was one of several pieces of creative developed by Saatchi & Saatchi to advertise the movie. (Mission log: There was one security guard. Fortunately she bought the clip board and orange vests).
A second giant billposter was set up in the lion enclosure at Auckland Zoo yesterday afternoon. This one, reading: “Mission Objective: advertise this movie in a lion enclosure”, was installed with the help of zoo officials. This one was more short-lived, with the poster quickly torn apart by one of the lions. (Mission Log: Creatives were informed that they hadn’t been fed yet which explained roaring, growling and salivating. Putting the sign in enclosure was truly frightening.)
An online stealth mission was also conducted on the TV3 website. A specially designed Sanyo banner, containing a built in ‘time-bomb’, was set up so the picture would morph into the TV2 Mission Impossible 3 advertising.
A series of billposters around the city, with a mission objective of being stuck up with chewing gum, completed the creative. The latest advertising was part of an ongoing campaign for TV2 movies. This has included a number of billboards for an American Psycho screening earlier this year, including an American flag with a bloody handprint, and a billboard drawing attention to a hotel with blood-stained windows.
A suitably gruesome billboard was also created for a Kill Bill screening in May, with a shot of Uma Thurman wielding a sword given an extra dimension with a large ‘blood’ splatter from the billboard down the wall and onto the footpath and several parked cars.
Creative Director: Luke Chess
Executive creative director: Mike O’Sullivan
Creatives: Matt Swinburne & Mike Felix
Interactive: Mac Mackaskill
Interactive producer: Liz Knox
Account service team:
General manager: Sonya Berrigan
Group account director: Jillian Stanton
Senior account manager: Natalie Gibb
Account manager: Jody Lorimer
Producer: Conan Gorbey
19 Comments
Nice. The zoo one could maybe have been better if you had sacrificed a junior to the lion and when TV3 news turned up to do the coverage, dropped the banner into frame.
that is cool
Excellent continuation of that fine NZ advertising tradition of doing ads for TV shows and movies that serve no purpose other than to suck up to award judges. No one from TV3 is going to watch a movie on TV2, no one walks past TV3 headquarters and how many people were at the zoo on a Tuesday morning before the lions got to the sign? Cool though, I’m going to use this next time we’re pitching against Saatchis. Thanks!
It’s a good idea, the Impossible Mission campaign.
Movies on local TV channels continue to be a goldmine for local creatives. You rummage through the forward schedules, have an “Oh my God moment”, and if you’re pushy and lucky you get a pretty quick result.
However, I agree with 9.03. Nobody saw it except us, probably. Joe Punter doesn’t give a shit that it’s TV2 ambushing TV3, straight over his head. He didn’t see the TV3 ambush. Didn’t see the Zoo banner. Even if he saw the Trojan website ad morph he still wouldn’t get it – although that’s arguably the stealthiest part of the campaign, and I’m sure some media buyer is currently getting their entrails chewed by Lions for booking it. ( ” honest, I thought it really was for Sanyo….”)
But it will pick up. So there you go. Well done Matt and Mike. Hats off.
Audience: TV3 Marketing team. 3 people.
If you look at the chewing gum flyposters on BestAds they are fully glued to the wall. You can see the wrinkles. Must have been impossible
Nice comment 12:27. ‘Hats off’ Tony.
Yeah, ‘hats off’, that’s classic Tony.
Where would Saatchi and DDB be on the award tallies without these types of promos for TV shows movies?
I ‘ve done them myself and picked up, but it does start to feel a little hollow after a while – like cracking a great fart when there’s no one home to hear it.
2:45 – Yeah but if you’re really serious, you can record it on a dictaphone.
Made up nonsense like this is OK, maybe, if you’re a startup agency no one has ever heard of trying to make a name for yourself. It’s been 30 years since Saatchi was one of those, though. Doesn’t there come a point in your life when you stop trying to make a bigger treehouse than the kid next door and actually do something useful with your life?
This is great. Saatchis do this kind of thing really well. I like it.
Does Telecom wonder why Saatchis can’t be arsed doing anything like this for them?
writing ‘advertise this movie’ essentially admits you are not doing these ads for the punter, rather the industry. Your average Joe hates being reminded they are being sold something and anything admitting it’s an ad is basically a still born.
besides, there’s no way Tom ‘pygmy’ Cruise could reach that tree to put it up, let alone the TV3 building
this is why normal people shake their heads when i tell them that i’m in advertising. get a life guys. (outside the agency that is)
crap film, crap ads.
Wow, that’s a really constructive comment shane. Feel better?
This should help the Gunn Report rating. Actually, why not leave Gunn out of it and lock Mike and Toby in the glue room and let them fight it out with scalpels?
No wonder the client approved this…. didnt have to pay for a thing when it comes out of the saatchi awards budget!
The desperation for award entries has crossed the line. Get back with the big ideas which are part of the original comms budget saatchi’s – thats what your known for! well were……