Media Release
July 29, 2009
Ad agency bucks the trend by advertising for itself in a recession
Advertising agency DraftFCB is launching a series of 6 TV commercials for DraftFCB that showcase the work the agency has
done for a range of its clients.
DraftFCB Managing Director, Justin Mowday explains why the company has taken what could be seen as an unusual step for
an advertising agency, “Despite producing some of the best advertising in the country, including NZ’s favourite TV
commercial[1], very few people know our name. We’ve decided to address that by taking our own advice”.
Mr. Mowday adds, “It’s astounding to me that ad agencies as a general rule don’t practice what they preach - this is the
first time an ad agency has advertised on TV for years. How many agencies can the business community instantly name and
also understand why they should consider using them? How many are not only telling their clients to keep marketing their
brands through a recession but also leading from the front and doing it for themselves?”
Research shows that marketing through a recession is a successful strategy to grow market share, that is then maintained
as the economic conditions improve[2].
DraftFCB Creative Director, James Mok states, “We have absolute belief in the change we create for clients, three gold’s
at the EFFIES (advertising effectiveness awards) talks to that, so it made sense to apply our expertise to our own
brand. I think every business needs to be assessing their marketing right now to maximise impact and results”.
“This campaign showcases some of our best TV work and the effect it has had for our clients like Mitre 10, Whitcoulls,
Cerebos Gregg’s and the Ministry of Health’s National Depression Initiative. It’s clear from these examples that
DraftFCB is essentially a Change Agency. It’s what our work is all about. Finding new ways to change minds, change
behaviour and even change lives – because if our work doesn’t change anything, we haven’t done our job”.
Each of the new TVCs features a voiceover from the key players involved in creating the ads, giving an insight into how
the ads were made and what significant change was delivered. The campaign features advertising created by DraftFCB for
Mitre 10, Robert Harris, Whitcoulls, Gregg’s Herbs and Spices and the Ministry of Health’s National Depression
Initiative and Like Minds Like Mine.
The DraftFCB TV commercials will run from Wednesday 29 July.
This advertising campaign for DraftFCB comes hard on the heels of the “1000 Hours” initiative, where DraftFCB donated
one thousand hours of agency time to the business that showed the agency it was most likely to protect/create jobs for
New Zealanders. DraftFCB is currently developing a campaign for the recipient, Bartercard NZ.
ENDS