GRUEN WANTS NZ AGENCIES TO PITCH

WithThe Gruen Transfer gearing up to return to our screens, producers ofthe show are calling for Australian and New Zealand agencies to take part in The Pitch, thesegment of the show in which competing agencies undertake an impossiblebrief.

“The Pitch became one of the most popular parts of lastyear’s show,” says Andrew Denton (pictured with AWARD chairman RichardMaddocks and his producer Jon Casimir last year), whose Zapruder’sOther Films company has started work on the second series for ABC-TV.

“Thequality of work from the agencies happily exceeded our expectationsfrom the very first episode. Even more importantly, most of the adsfulfilled the promise of the segment, taking the challenge ofpersuading us seriously.”

Denton says The Pitch is a chance forbrilliant minds to shine: “We want to show the problem-solving natureof advertising. We want the television audience to realise that a goodad can change minds, even on an apparently unmovable idea.”

Agencies compete in each episode for the coveted Gruen trophy.

“Gruenscientists have calculated its relative value,” Denton says. “One Gruentrophy is worth 1.83 Cannes Lions, 2.6 Clios and 900 Logies.”

TheGruen team has already locked in more than half of the agencies for thesecond series, but there are still some opportunities for creatives whothink they have what it takes.. If you’d like to nominate your agencyfor the challenge, contact Pitch producer Polly Connolly on +612 92172226 or pconnolly@zapruder.com.au