A beautifully shot advertisement showcasing the diversity of ‘the long white cloud’ in it’s locales and it’s people. The legendary story of this nations birth and the soundtrack of ‘forever young’ – it’s powerful and it works. I’d go…

This advertisement would have to be best in genre.
It’s a pity that their website lets them down so very badly.

Cluttered and difficult to navigate, and let’s be frank – just not that visually appealing. It has all the standard tourism site tools – the travel planner, event calenders and so on. I did however like the extension of the strong storytelling device evident in their advertisements with the send-a-friend a postcard and the the showcasing of visitors, residents, and fans home made films uploaded as 100% Pure NZ video experiences.

Fantastic ad, ordinary web presence. This should serve as a lesson to all of us. It’s not really good enough if there is no branded experience consistency across all facets of a project.

It would be akin to sinking the majority of your event budget into an expensive headline act and neglecting the event environment, high care table service, or even fundamentally a smooth and warm registration process. It never fails to amaze me that even today, some people spend a fortune on staging an important event only to neglect setting aside within their budget and site times for adequet presenter and techincal rehearsals and then wonder when things ‘happen’ or worse… don’t. Seriously talk with us or your current professional event management partner to best determine how to strike a considered balance between all aspects of an event so that you and your guests are assured a consistent and impactful experience across all aspects of the event cycle. It just makes sense.

Since we are on the subject of tourism style advertisements, a good one creates an expectation of a unique or at least a memorable experience and motivates the viewer to act on it. Consider the next clip which had the very hard task of promoting one of Australia’s east coast cities commonly regarded by many as a big country town – Brisbane. I think they did a pretty good job although would it compel me to holiday there or just make me feel warm and fuzzy about living there?

And finally, a personal favorite of mine. An advertisement for Las Vegas. What I like about this advertisement is it doesn’t show the Vegas most of us know – the shows, the strip, the neon lights, the gambling tables, the dancing and so on… no it just presents a little story and you fill in the ‘blanks’ with your own Vegas experience. Smart, fun, and effective. I’d go… for the shopping of course. Enjoy.

FACTOR168 | Event Management Company

In an office poll – his recent marathon effort “Australia” with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman was declared to have sucked the big one for being too self indulgent and long. And yet – everyone loves and admits to owning a copy of the iconic “Strictly Ballroom” starring a very young Paul Mercurio.

His other two efforts are also either adored or loathed -  “Moulin Rouge” again with Nicole and a strangely cast Ewan McGregor, and “Romeo+Juliet” with a pre-Titanic Leo DiCaprio and the Gwyneth Paltrow double, Claire Danes.

For myself personally, I can’t help but feel that Baz isn’t so much a great storyteller or a fabulous film director but rather his is a uniquely visioned cinematic stylist. His films are all stamped equally with the rich visual dimensions of his visual signature. Interestingly his partner in crime and wife Catherine Martin, is a three time Oscar nominee and a winner on two occasions for…. you guess it – costume design and art direction. Hmmm.

In any case – Baz (and or his muse Catherine) illustrate well practised artistic skills in re-visioning and re-packaging. Skills that are central to good business theatre practices. To take the familiar and the pre-existing in terms of set performances and audience expectations, and to revision (or as our Disney friends are want to say – reimagnieering) these elements into a newer, fresher and more impactful experience.

“Moulin Rouge” and “Romeo+Juliet” are both very good cases in point.

The well known Shakespeare story of forbidden love is expertly placed into more contemporary settings while “Moulin Rouge” draws heavily on the Toulouse Lautrec inspired historical Parisian setting threading musical sequences laced with distinctive and iconic pop music lyrics. I can assure you it was not just Ewan McGregor who appeared a little perplexed at this… but it worked. Which is a forced segway to today’s show and tell moment.

This music clip was employed at the time of the “Moulin Rouge” film as a great cross-platform promotional effort and what a great effort it was. Taking on a classic 1970’s dance floor hit “Lady Marmalade” by Labelle – this refreshed version starred the four biggest popstars at the time – Christina Aguilera, Lil’Kim, Mya, and the FACTOR168 fav’ Pink.

The results: a great musical cover version, a great cross-promotional experience, strong Baz inspired visuals, and a collection of distinctive thumbnail personalities presented by the girls. Not surprisingly – we’ve designed similar “Lady Marmalade” experiences and delivered them within the event context. Taking affectionately memorable moments and artfully redesigning them into even more powerful updated experiences. Good fun for all.

Enjoy the clip and the sisters in action!

FACTOR168 | Event Management Company