Bloody Hell: Lara Bingle is Air New Zealand’s new ‘Kiwi Sceptic’ continuing the series via Host
Air New Zealand, via Host Sydney, has released a brand new episode of ‘Air New Zealand presents: The Kiwi Sceptics’ – a special Winter edition featuring Lara Bingle, narrated by Flight of the Conchords comedian Rhys Darby.
The new episode features Bingle – who rose to fame in the Australian Tourism ‘Where the Bloody Hell are you?’ campaign in 2006 via M&C Saatchi Sydney – as a sceptic of New Zealand, and continues the series format of pairing her with a compatible Kiwi guide – Hayley Holt (also a model, ballroom dancer and dater of national sporting heroes), who shows her the best of what New Zealand ski has to offer.
The campaign was first launched in February this year and consisted of four webisodes that documented the journeys of four ordinary Aussies who said they wouldn’t cross the ditch in a million years, but were all won over by its charm.
Bingle, who first came to notoriety as the young Aussie girl in the Australian tourism campaign of 2006, may appear an unexpected choice for the New Zealand airline. Kelly Millier, marketing manager, says: “We need to do unexpected things to get noticed and stand out. Lara is a genuine Kiwi Sceptic. She had no interest in NZ and has even been used to promote another destination. If we could convince Lara that New Zealand is a fresh and progressive holiday destination, then her profile will help us carry that message to many more Aussies and hopefully help us convince them too.”
Without the luxury of a big marketing budget, the campaign has already achieved great success – the films have been viewed over 840,000 times, and TNS campaign tracking reports that over one third of people who have watched a film have changed their minds about NZ, and no longer believe ‘NZ is not for me’. Furthermore, the campaign picked up a bronze Lion in the inaugural branded content category at Cannes this year.
Coinciding with the launch of the new Kiwi Sceptics episode, Air New Zealand is also the airline partner to Lara’s reality show ‘Being Lara Bingle’. The show’s episode airing at 8pm on July 31st will feature Lara filming her Kiwi Sceptics episode in New Zealand, which will see the Kiwi Sceptics campaign reach an additional 650,000+ viewers.
On filming with Lara in NZ, Host digital ECD Bob Mackintosh, who directed the latest Kiwi Sceptics installment, says: “Many Aussies think New Zealand’s b-grade Australia. Lara was no different, so we took her over there and threw her in the deep end with a real Kiwi experience. It blew her away. And we hope this film will motivate others to head over and do the same.”
Last night, Air New Zealand released the episode to their 70,000 Facebook fans, immediately following the ‘Being Lara Bingle’ show. The campaign will launch to the wider public online, in cinemas, and in print, next Tuesday 31st July, again after the ‘Being Lara Bingle’ episode where Lara will be seen filming Kiwi Sceptics in NZ. The entire Kiwi Sceptics series is also housed on Air New Zealand’s branded YouTube channel, and can be accessed at kiwisceptics.com.
Client: Air New Zealand Australia
Campaign Name: Air New Zealand Presents: The Kiwi Sceptics
Launch Date: Tuesday 24th July 2012
Air New Zealand Australia
Kelly Millier, Marketing Manager
Justine Murphy, Brand Manager
Rebecca Bingham, Digital Marketing Executive
Host
Suzie Shaw, Managing Director
Dennelle Exton, Business Director
Will Morgan, Account Manager
Rory Gallery, Planner
Pascal Winkler, Digital Planning Director
Kaija Wall, Broadcast Production Director
Anthony Skujins, Print Producer
Host Digital
Bob Mackintosh, Director/Digital Creative Director
Ciaran McCarthy, Art Director
Memi Chang, Executive Digital Producer
Christian Hewitt, Digital Creative Director
Kae Yen, Digital Copywriter
Damien Oliver, Creative Technologist
Werner De Bruin, Senior Technical Developer
James Searchfield, Technical Development
Butt St Studios
Bob Mackintosh, Director
Carolyn Starkey, Producer
Amanda Sallybanks, Production Manager
Andy Grant, Director of Photography
Morgan Burret, Camera Operator
Andy Shakallis, Sound Recordist
Photography, Katie Kaars
Media
PHD Australia
20 Comments
That’s immensely watchable. Very funny.
Dear New Zealand,
Please keep her. We’re Bingled out over here.
Sincerely,
Australia
Much more entertaining than the show. Nice photography.
Nicely done.
Can’t help thinking that heli-skiing anywhere would be an awesome lifechanging experience. But I’m sure Queenstown is nice for people without helicopters too.
Australia – you said it right.
The only thing I’m sceptical about is that there is someone on earth who doesn’t think Lara is a vacuous twit. If going to NZ meant getting away from seeing or, worse still, hearing her on the telly, then I’m there!
Well done team Host. Nice looking / engaging piece of content. Rhys is the icing on the cake.
This is awesome. I watched this with 6 other colleagues and we all laughed out loud – amazing commentary from Rhys and some beautiful shots.
A sneaking suspicion that Anna H, Peppa, Finbarr, and Britt are the not-so-clever pseudonyms for the Host social media drone, typing out alternative personalities from a keyboard inside their tiny cubicle.
If this is the level of ‘entertainment’ we can continue to expect from the Branded Entertainment channels, please take us all back to old fashioned broadcasting, even with 14 minutes an hour of commercials, because, like so many of the other ‘Cannes Winners’ in the category, this is just dreadful.
Trust us, you’re not doing your brand any favours by putting out this drivel.
Stick to your day job . . . while you still have one.
“This is awesome. I watched this with 6 other colleagues and we all laughed out loud”
Ha ha ha ha ha. Subtle.
Help us all – I don’t work for host. My pseudonym was cleverly based on a flight of the concords gag (‘Brett’) but thanks for noticing.
This is honestly really funny, fortunately social media has unshackled the 20/40s / 15/30s spot and made our jobs so much harder. We now have to entertain people rather than ram messages down peoples throats while they go ‘YES MR TV! I WILL BUY THAT TOMORROW!!!’.
And I fucking love that challenge. Check out the responses on twitter or youtube and you have a valid perspective of what people actually think about this campaign, rather than a guy with his grandfather cane and smoking jacket anonymously typing on his telectrix keyboard thinks.
This is comedy. Earlier ones, not so much, but still funny. But this one my friend, is gold in terms of the funny bone.
In terms of Cannes, might not even pick up – and so what. If it’s good, it’s good.
@Britt
You wouldn’t know funny if it marched up and bit you on the tit, your “cleverly based pseudonym” and two-digit IQ notwithstanding.
Laughing at the stupidity of models who are famous only for being infamous as they frolic through the beautiful NZ Winter landscape is not comedy, it’s base and juvenile, and about as hilarious as a fart joke . . . not well written, or shot, or edited, or anything that even resembles something above the level of what an ECD would try and pass off as his directorial debut. As the More Credits Than Content above advises, “don’t quit your day job.”
This isn’t entertainment school where everybody gets to try out their ability to be a comedy director. You actually have to have some professional skills beyond “fucking lov(ing) that challenge” of branded content. Owning a 5D and FCP software is not the only prerequisite.
That this mob got a FOTC voice to narrate the dog’s breakfast is only a tribute to the fact that they paid him, but even Rhys couldn’t save this abortion.
But why I’m I telling you all this? “If it’s good, it’s good,” your insightful personal motto no doubt, and you sure know what’s good alright.
Not a grandfather, no cane, no jacket, and don’t even know what a telectrix keyboard is, but what we do know is that this will be about as well received as a pig at a bar mitzvah. Yes, maybe people will check it out on YT to watch the train wreck for a minute or two, but it w0n’t do Tourism in NZ any favours.
Back to the Kardashian’s and their local offshoot ‘The Shire’ for you and your fellow twits. Or better still, get an education. It might come in useful, although we doubt it.
Shalom.
@HelpUsAll
why don’t you just help yourself and get a life. and a job.
Mmm… a saucer of milk for HUA
@Pfft
Still trying to get that pubic hair out from between your teeth? The fact that it’s yours is a bit puzzling, but to each their own, so to speak.
@NotAsBitterAsYou
“get a life.” “get a job.”
We’re just hoping that this didn’t take you all morning to come up with. Brilliant though, in its simplicity. The future is yours, clearly.
To your fart joke comment HUA,
Louis C.K, an actual comedian, once said…
“You don’t have to smart to laugh at farts, but you have to be stupid not to.”
@LCKofj
Louis would also agree that It helps to include the verb in the sentence you’re quoting, especially if you’re quoting him.
Whoops, good spot.
I’d go there. And to NZ