1. The Great Crunchie Train Robbery – Crunchie (1975)
The oldest advertisement on this list, but it still stands the test of time with an all-star 70’s Kiwi cast and well-directed set-piece action. The hokey-pokey chocolate Crunchie bar at the centre of the advert is made in the UK, but this ad makes it feel like a Kiwi treat. It was shown on Kiwi television for 20 years and uses archival footage from old Western films thanks to director Tony Williams connection with an editor friend of Hollywood director Martin Scorsese. The tagline of the ad is ‘join the gold rush’ and after watching this epic ad, you might just have a hankering for a Crunchie.
2. Bungy Fishing – Instant Kiwi (1989)
A.J.Hackett’s creation and the inventor himself feature in this humorous ad by the NZ Lotteries commission. It was directed by Lee Tamahori, who would then go on to direct the critically acclaimed Kiwi film Once Were Warriors. Who knew that a bungy jumper could be a better fisherman than actual fly-fisherman?
3. Screw the examinator! – Instant Kiwi (1990)
Another Instant Kiwi ad, this shows a student who finishes his exam and chooses to scratch an Instant Kiwi instead of handing his paper in. The examiner doesn’t take to his behaviour well, but his rebellious actions get the audience on his side when they see what he cleverly does to fool the authority in the end. The instant kiwi tagline is ‘Give it a go!’ and he certainly does here! A younger Daniel Gillies, now of Vampire Diaries and The Originals fame stars in this ad.
4. Deerstalkers Ball – Speights (1990)
The legendary Frank Whitten (Grandpa in Outragerous Fortune if you read last week's blog) stars as ‘the Southern Man’, also known as the “Good on ya mate” guy, alongside a younger man he calls “boy”. This humorous ad was beloved by many Kiwi males for promoting male friendships and sticking by your mates. A thing that Speights beer was meant to represent.
5. Good Things Take Time – Mainland (1991)
Also known as ‘Four Seasons’ – this advertisement shows the changing seasons, a friendship developing, and the characters ageing. The voiceover of the ad is an old man talking about his friendship with the other boy/man. The ad compares the time it takes to form a friendship with the time it takes to age a good Mainland cheese. Its an emotional and heart-warming piece, with a great mixture of humour thrown in.
6. SPOT – Telecom (now Spark) (1991)
Another famous Kiwi dog, Spot was Telecom’s mascot for years in the early 90’s. His name, while common for a dog, was an acronym for ‘Services and Products of Telecom’. The little Jack Russel starred in over 40 commercials between 1989 and 1998. Once you watch this ‘tv spot’, you too will fall in love with the plucky little dog!
7. Milky Bar Kid Western – Nestle Milky Bar (1992)
“The Milky bars are on me!” Or so goes the famous line, uttered by the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, glasses wearing ‘Milkybar Kid’. The Milkybar kid has been around since 196, with multiple child actors playing the now famous character. In New Zealand, Milkybar’s do not contain cocoa butter, so are not labelled as chocolate.
8. Utter Peanut Butter Nutter – Sanitarium NZ (1993)
A catchy and annoying tune that would stay in your head for days and days, Sanitarium came up with a truly unforgettable jingle that had kids everywhere repeating the song. A prime example of why ads with a catchy and memorable tune do so well.
9. World Famous in New Zealand – L&P (1994)
Lemon and Paeroa (L&P) is a soda that’s slogan is that it is “World famous in New Zealand”. A mixture of bubbly freshwater found in Paeroa with a lemon twist, the soda has been popular in New Zealand since its creation in 1907.
10. Keeps ‘Em Full of Life – Friskies Tux (1996)
Yet another Kiwi ad featuring dogs and horses, this was a true masterpiece, and another example of an ad featuring an entire song created to get the message across. The song plays while sweeping shots of NZ are shown for a whole minute and thirty seconds. This ode to the working dog includes the lyrics that are an ode to the dog food (Tux) you are being sold and the country it is sold in:
“From Cape Reinga to the bluff, there’s only one feed that’s good enough…Tux, keeps ‘em full of life, fit as a fiddle, sharp as a knife”.
Honourable Mention: Crumpy and Scotty – Toyota Hilux (1982)
This ad campaign was extremely popular and rightfully deserves a special mention on this list because of its ability to capture Kiwi culture with the iconic character Barry Crump taking his friend Scottie, who is trying to explain the features of the car, on a wild ride through the New Zealand bush in the latest Toyota Hilux. It rightfully earns its place on this list as the best ad campaign for Kiwis over multiple ads – all of which can (and should) be viewed at the BarryCrumpFan Youtube channel.
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