Work Watch: Ogilvy whip-crackers and horn-tooting Germans

It’s all just work, work, work, and the big O is at the head of the pack. Ogilvy’s had quite the week, work-wise. Somebody must be cracking the whip something fierce.

Well, erm ... nothing much
First there’s the new L&P campaign. Click here for the ad but brace yourself for … nothing much.

It’s an ad about nothing, with the line “There’s nothing much like L&P when you’re doing nothing much”.

There are TVCs, Adshels, posters and billboards.

ECD Damon O’Leary: “For the first time ever I was impressed with our creatives doing nothing much.”

And there’s nothing much to say about this campaign except … well … bring back Colin and fix the munted plural apostrophe situation. (Please.)
Three stars out of five

Doing a Meares Taine
In O-town, Countdown is harking back to the good old days with a soap opera about a family that works at the supermarket.

Any Gen Y out there might like to look up the Anchor family ads for a Kiwi advertising history lesson. (Particularly brilliant is the modus operandi of brand switching.) We're harder to shock these days, though.

Anyway, now Ogilvy is taking the Anchor theory to the supermarket.

We reckon Toadfish Rebecchi needs to visit Countdown Avenue and give Mrs Mangle a good seeing-to.

It’s called Meet the Colemans, and it’s on right now during an ad break near you.

Mum and Dad (Rob and Nikki) and kids Jess and Wills, plus new baby Joshie, will play out their lives for your viewing pleasure, particularly during TV One news.

We can’t give away too many hot secrets, but we can reveal some sneaky info from our inside sources. Firstly, Jess and Wills are both adopted, and they fall for each other once they realise they’re not really blood relatives.

Then Wills decides he’s gay and steals Jess’ boyfriend, who has a long-lost secret evil twin, who has a facial operation to make him look like dad Rob, so he can steal the family inheritance and sell out the estate from under them all.

Then it's revealed baby Joshie is actually half-human, half-vampire, with secret powers to make you fork over hard-earned cash for trashy novels.

Mum Nikki hits the bottle hard and is saved by a DraftFCB staffer, who one day says to her, “Ease up on the drink”, and then both Ogilvy and FCB win an Effie.

I don't know about you, but I smell a conspiracy between FCB and Ogilvy towards producing a piece of branded communication with a hidden social marketing message. Filthy!

Progressive Enterprises general manager, marketing and communication Elizabeth Ryley: “Following the lives of a family like the Colemans gives us the chance to show in interesting and engaging ways, how Countdown always has the smart solution for the everyday needs of Kiwi families.

“What’s more – because of the nature of families and their needs - there are endless wonderful story lines, all of which provides us with entertaining and relevant ways to showcase how Countdown helps enrich our daily lives.”
Two stars out of five – we’ll bump it up to three if our spoilers are on the money.

Toot, toot – milk time!
The Toot Group is tooting its PR horn with The Trusty Delivery Co, which is (mysteriously) bringing back milk deliveries.

Do we live in a world where milk deliveries won’t get stolen by malfeasant youths? Time will tell.

The Tooty folks have trotted out this website where you can order your milk and have it all happen.

So who’s the Toot Group when it’s at home?

It’s a creative group, possibly involving some Germans, that’s paired up with Degree and Resn for this job.

Creative director Cleve Cameron: “The brand, website and characters of the Trusty world are really lovable. Everyone’s done a fantastic job. It’s tradition with a modern twist, answering a simple need for time-poor Kiwis, engaging and entertaining both parents and their children.”
Three stars out of five – bring back milk in glass bottles!