Royal New Zealand Air Force went to the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi and had a brilliant ad campaign created to promote their recruiting arm of RNZ Air Force.
A YouTube game was designed on their YouTube page that allows you to control a helicopter remotely, the interactive game also allows users to queue up for a spot in the game right from YouTube. You pick your own mission then fly your helicopter through some dangerous terrain. You can control a webcam that fly's through small, 3D models of New Zealand's terrain, all housed in an Air Force Base.

Take the speed test with the Orion Aircraft or operate a forklift within the airplane hanger. Also pretty cool, you get a video of your accomplishments if you complete your mission that you can share on your social networks.
The game is open to anyone anywhere in the world provided you have an internet connection.
The campaign includes TV spots and other online promotions. You can check the game out here on youtube.

Game Demo below

Credits:
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand
Client: Royal New Zealand Air Force
Creative Director: Scott Huebscher
GAD: Elaine Bickell
Exec. Digital Producer: Kevin Sherman
Digital Producer: Linda Krug
Producer: Anna Kennedy
Front-end development and design: RESN
Electronics: Paragon Electronic Design
Model: Kennedy Modelmaking

Air New Zealand promotes Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" with an in-flight safety check in airlines newest marketing ad tie-in for the movie. ANZ, the Airline of Middle Earth.

Air New Zealand partnered with WETA Workshop on a brand new Hobbit inspired Safety Video. It features cameo appearances including Sir Peter Jackson. Visit http://www.airnzcode.com/hobbitmovie to Find and Unlock the Elvish Code for your chance to win one of six double passes to the World Premiere Screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in New Zealand on the 28th of November 2012

Unveil your very own Middle-earth experience in a place that will forever keep you under its spell. Your dreams are waiting right here in New Zealand.

Credits:
The TV Commercial Ad titled 100% Middle-earth was done by New Zealand Tourism advertising agency for New Zealand Tourism.

Creative agency DDB, New Zealand creates a fun new ad campaign for Volkswagen that promotes VW vehicles features that make it more than just a car. Five: 15 second indents range from a seat warmer for your fish and chips to automatic laser reflectors.

Credits:
Titles — Dogs, Spell, Water Pistol, Farmer, Takeaways
Agency: DDB Group New Zealand
Executive Creative Director — Andy Fackrell
Creative Directors — Natalie Knight & Gavin Siakimotu
Creatives — Toby Morris, Simone Louis, Kevin Bachtiar, Sasha Arandelovic
Executive TV Producer — Judy Thompson
Agency Producer — Samantha Meehan & Rosie Grayson
Group Account Director — Scott Wallace
Account Director — Susie Darling
Production Company: Exit Films
Director — Greg Wood
Producer — Declan Cahill
DOP — Ian McCarroll
Art Director — Brant Fraser
Editor — Nathan Pickles
Client: Volkswagen New Zealand
National Marketing Manager — Denise Goodwin

Waiting has never looked as beautiful as it does it this new ad for New Zealand Telecom, "Waiting is Over" created by Saatchi&Saatchi.

The commercial features the music of Elliott Wheeler and the track is called "The Moment", Elliott is also the man who created The Great Gatsby soundtrack.

Credits:
Creative Ad 
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New Zealand

Executive Creative Director: Antonio Navas

Creative Director: Nathan Cooper
Creatives: Arnya Karaitiana, Phil Hickes

Agency Producer: Jane Oak

Production Company: GoodOil
Director: Michael Spiccia
Cinematographer: Crighton Bone
Executive Producer: Juliet Bishop
Production Designer: Guy Treadgold
Editors: Drew Thompson, Michael Lonsdale
VFX Supervisor: Nick Ponzoni
VFX Executive Producer: Anya Kruzmetra

Music Composition: Elliott Wheeler / Turning Studios
Audio Post: Franklin Rd

In 2012 the Game Continues...

Geo: New Zealand;
Category: Clothing & Footwear;
Agency: Iris;
Brand: Adidas;
Advertising Agency: Iris Worldwide, New Zealand;
Creative Director/Art Director: Tom Hoskins;
Copywriter: Phil Shearer;
Photographer: Ross Brown/Match;
Retoucher: Andy Salisbury/Cake.

Lindauer Rose

DDB NZ's tear jerking campaign for Lindauer continues with their latest print advert. Using the Yellow Pages, they kindly offer another helping hand to the boys left at home on Girls' Night Out.

Category: Drinks, alcoholic;
Client: Lion;
Agency: DDB Group New Zealand;
Country: New Zealand;
Executive Creative Director: Andy Fackrell;
Art Director: Julia Ferrier;
Copywriter: Jennie Liddell;
Retoucher: Gordon Moir;
Account manager: Maria Bjorkman;
Angela Watson - Group Business Director;
Susan Cassidy - Lion - Marketing Manager Wine;
Kylie Biddle - Lion - Brand Manager Lindauer.

A love-struck protagonist cat and a feel-good car are the makings of the one of best commercials I've seen this year, the best one starring a cat that is. This fantastic new commercial for the 2013 Toyota Corolla entitled "Feels Good Inside" features a curious cat who seems to have some bad luck with his curiosity, from being run over by a lawn mover to diving into wet cement. But the best part is this cat's dive attack on the dog. The ending, well let's just say this cat will be back.

Credits:
Ad Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New Zealand
Client: Toyota
Executive Creative Director: Antonio Navas
Creative Director: Corey Chalmers, Guy Roberts
Creative: Sarah Litwin-Schmid, Emily Drake
GAD: Mark Cochrane
AD: Emma Guadagni
Production Company: Goodoil
Director: Hamish Rothwell
Producer: Sam Long
DOP: Crichton Bone
Editor: Peter Sciberras
Online: Nigel Mortimer
Audio Post: Liquid Studios
Music Composition: Elliott Wheeler
Music Composition: Turning Studios
Audio Post: Liquid
Sound Engineer: Craig Matuschka

Watch as "Father Time" loses his mojo but discovers Sky TV and all is good in this beautifully shot commercial for Sky by the production company The Sweet Shop.

Credits:
Creative Agency: DDB New Zealand
Executive Creative Director: Andy Fackrell
Creative Director: Chris Schofield
Art Director: Toby Morris
Copywriter: Simone Louis
Agency Producer: Jane Mill
Executive Agency Producer: Judy Thompson
Managing Director: Justin Mowday
Production Company: The Sweet Shop
Director of Photography: Chrighton Bone
Editor: Jack Hutchings
Sound Design: Jon Cooper
Composer: Peter Hobbs

El Rico

What happens when a stuntman, actor/director and screenwriter walk into a Gold Coast bar? They come up with the concept for an action fantasy film that is already raising eyebrows in Hollywood no joke. Rene Perrin, Avelino `El Rico' Lescot and Susan Macguillicuddy are the trio behind The Black Sun, which recently took out the Most Ambitious Screenplay award at the 2015 International Action on Film Festival in Los Angeles.

The locals are hoping the added hype surrounding their screenplay will push the project into production and attract the eye of distributors. Lescot, a Gold Coast-based actor, stuntman and filmmaker who has worked on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Peter Pan and The Condemned, said The Black Sun incorporates several genres.

``It's enchanting and mystical,'' he said.
``It's a gypsy, action, adventure, romance, western with a strong supernatural feel that is set in the Pacific Islands, Mexico, China, New Zealand and here.
``At the moment the film industry needs something different but financially manageable and that's The Black Sun.''

He said The Black Sun's `twist ending' had helped draw attention to the project. The film follows a warrior's worldwide journey on the Matariki boat, which Lescot said is `like another star of the film'. Lescot and Perrin have an impressive international fanbase thanks to the success of their action film Among Dead Men. It won several awards for best fight choreography and generated considerable profits in DVD sales in Canada, Germany, Thailand, Cambodia, Poland, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Hong Kong. It also grossed several times its $7000 budget in DVD sales through Walmart in the US. Perrin, who has worked as a stunt performer on films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Daybreakers, Nim's Island, Fool's Gold and Ghost Ship, said they wanted to combine their `love of action with a love of romance' in The Black Sun.

Balancing out the testosterone on the team is screenwriter Susan Macguillicuddy. Despite having worked with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Jessica Alba, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffiths, Macguillicuddy said working with `the boys' on The Black Sun has been her `most cherished writing experience'.

``It's like we each started at one end of the canvas and worked our way to the middle, fine-tuning the parts of the script we liked,'' she said.
``It took us about a year and hundreds of meetings but we're happy with the finished product.
``We wanted to do something very avant garde with the genre and something new.
``Getting the Most Ambitious Screenplay award means we really pushed the genre, which is what we set out to do.''

International distributors have shown interest in The Black Sun and the trio is currently in the process of looking for investors.

With the holidays approaching, this new ad campaign is a magical and festive tale created for Kobo eReaders. Directed by Toronto's Holiday Films Ed McCulloch, the bedtime story-like “A Father’s Tale” beautifully mixes live action and visual effects and is chock-full of festive imagery. Created by Kobo’s own in-house ad agency, the spot is currently airing in Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Already have a Kobo eReader? Right now you can Save 40% on Select Titles, or get yourself one if you don't!

Credits:
Title: A Father's Story
Client: Kobo
Brand: eReader
Agency: Kobo
General Manger: Matt Welch
Creative Director: Darrell Credeur
Art Director: Jessica Wong
Copywriter: Sabrina Christo
Agency Producer: Joe Pistorio
Production Company: Holiday Films
Director: Ed McCulloch
Executive Producer: Josefina Nadurata
Line Producer: Andre Fitsialos
Director of Photography: Paul Meyers
Editorial Company: Flat Iron Edit
Editor: Kurt Ritchie
Visual Affects Company: Track & Field
Producer: Yumi Suyama
Flame: Mike Bishop
Models/Moco: Remote Control
Producer: Brianne Wells
Model Maker: matt crookshank
Music & Sound Design: Eggplant Collective
Casting Director: Shasta Lutz, Jigsaw Casting
Wardrobe: Trish Venema
Production Designer: Greg Keen

Electrofunk duo Chromeo

From his breakout hit Boy to starring in next year’s blockbuster Green Lantern (above), New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi is a shining light in Hollywood. The 35-year-old Maori writer, director, producer and artist first burst onto the scene in 2016 with his Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night and followed that success in 2015 with his debut feature Eagle Vs Shark. It starred his close friend Jermaine Clement of Flight Of The Conchords fame and Waititi also came on board to write and direct several episodes of the hit show. But it is his latest film Boy that is truly putting him on the world stage.

Whilst in competition at the prestigious Sundance film festival earlier this year, executives from Warner Brothers Studio saw Waititi performing in Boy and quickly approached him about a role in Green Lantern. Despite coming from an acting background in live theatre and perfoming in a comedy troupe with Jermaine, Waititi said it was strange to give up the creative reigns and return to performing.

“They saw Boy and were looking for someone to play this character, so I read for it and then suddenly I was an actor again,” he said.
“It was weird because it wasn’t part of the plan for me. I just wanted to do my thing and keep making films and be a director.
“It was very, very weird and I found it kind of strange to go from someone whose been in control for ages to sitting around on set waiting for your scene.
“Your part of it, but your also not part of it.
“It was fucking weird to be honest, but I loved it and watching how everything is done.”Green Lantern is the $150m mega blockbuster based on the DC Comics series of the same name and stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role (above). Waititi said he plays the role of Green Lantern’s faithful sidekick Thomas Kalmaku in the film.
“I can’t even pronounce his name properly because he’s supposed to be of Native American heritage,” he said.
“He doesn’t have any powers or do any of the action scenes.
“It’s basically that….the guy is like a tech geek. That old chestnut.
“It’s not a giant role or anything and you never know if you’re still going to be in it at the end of the movie.
“While I was shooting I was thinking, as a filmmaker, you don’t really need this scene. But I wasn’t going to tell them that.”

Tipped as being the biggest blockbuster of 2011, there has been a lot of hype surrounding the special effects used on Green Lantern. Reynolds suit, for instance, is being created using CGI technology and will constantly evolve throughout the film. Although Waititi said he didn’t get to see what the suit looked like during filming, what he did see of the production was `amazing’.

“I haven’t seen any of the suit stuff because they hadn’t even decided what the suit was going to look like when we were shooting,” he said.
“They’ve had almost a year since filming to develop that now, but the art I saw was amazing. “It’s going to look incredible.
“That was very exciting for me because although I saw some of the green screen stuff, there’s no way to imagine what it’s going to look like.
“I just gave up and said my lines.
“I imagined it would look awesome down the track but at that moment it was just a bunch of weird people in normal clothes standing around with cameras.
“I wasn’t even in those scenes, I just went to watch their spotted-suit acting.”
Being involved in one of the most highly anticipated comic-book movies was a dream come true for Waititi (above), who said he used to `collect comics’ when he was younger.
“I was not really into the Green Lantern mythology, but I was more of a Batman guy,” he said.
“Batman was just a guy with determination who was badass and good at beating people up and fighting.
“He had the dark past and that appealed to me.
“I was a little bit into X-Men, but it got quite complicated with all the characters.”

But don’t get too excited, because Waititi said he is not likely return to the superhero genre anytime soon.

“It’s not really my style,” he said.
“I’m better suited to these character pieces and its sort of my background.
“There’s less stress and less stuff that’s over my head.”

Here is where. I chatted with the friendly P-Thugg (above right) from electrofunk duo Chromeo yesterday about music, movies, his BFF Dave 1 and asked the question a legion of Yo Gabba Gabba fans have been wanting to know — does he wash his hands?

“Yeah, always,” he said.
So, now that’s settled, here are his favourite movies:
“Scarface, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ghost Busters, Beverley Hills Cop and Naked Gun.”

For those who haven’t been exposed to their brilliance before, I suggest you check out Chromeo’s video for their ridiculously catchy new song Don’t Turn The Lights On, off their forthcoming album Business Casual.

Drawing on a history of innovation in scientific and naturopathic expertise, Red Seal develops effective natural remedies that help the body heal itself and boost well being.
Advertising Agency: Sugar&Partners, Auckland, New Zealand
Creative Director: Dave Nash
Creative Director / Copywriter: Damon O'Leary
Art Director: Dave Nash

Everyone loves a good biff, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with The Footy Show. Here, I’m speaking about the one and only Brisbane International Film Festival also known as BIFF. The Gold Coast, being the cultural vacuum that it is, us film geeks eagerly await the annual BIFF where a selection of films from around the world are screened over the course of one and a bit weeks. This year I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the BIFF crew by putting together articles on various films for the website and daily newsletter. With dozens of movies crammed into the 11-day event it would be easy to miss some of the real gems. The good news is I’ve taken a look at the complete line-up of films screening at this year's festival and even watched some of them early. So, the following is my list of the films you MUST SEE or die at this year's BIFF.

For you international readers this can be a handy guide of limited release films you should keep an eye out for in the coming weeks/months.

• An Education — the opening night film starring Peter Sarsgaard and set in the 60s. The Sars-man in a film with romance, drama and intrigue sounds like too rare an opportunity to miss.
• BALIBO — the notorious tale of five young, Australian journalists who were executed while reporting on Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in 75. An impressive Aussie cast including Gyton Grantley, Nathan Phillips and Anthony LaPaglia expose the Australian and Indonesian governments shameless efforts to cover-up this important story.
• Coraline — has been covered extensively on this blog given its beautiful visuals and dark storyline. Directed by Henry Selick, director of the classic Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline follows the adventures of a young girl who discovers a secret door leading to an alternative reality.
• 500 Days of Summer — a last minute addition to the festival line-up, this quirky, nontraditional love story deserves to be seen purely because it features the talents of my favourite Joseph Gordon Levitt. It also stars everyone’s favourite indie film star Zoey Deschanel.
• CHE: Parts One & Two — director Steven Soderbergh’s stunning two-part opus based on the life Che Guevara and starring Benicio Del Toro in the title role. You’ll be hard pressed to catch this screened back to back anywhere else in Queensland.
• Away We Go — highly peculiar, yet, interesting film which looks at the journey of two thirtsomethings who discover they’re going to have a baby. Instead of settling down and preparing, the couple take to the road to visit old friends. This is the latest thing from the amicable Sam Mendes and marks a return to his off-beat indie roots.
• The September Issue — one of the most anticipated documentaries of the year, this film delves into the life of legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour in the lead-up to the massive September issue.
• Jules And Jim — this French film from the 60s is a classic love-triangle with arguably the most recognisable face in French cinema — Jeanne Moreau.
• Moon — one of the films I’m most looking forward to, this sci-fi thriller i s the debut feature from David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones and stars Sam Rockwell in what is said to be the performance of his career.
• The Missing Person — a private detective is hired to follow a missing person but what started as a simple job rapidly develops into a complex mystery. Full of double-crosses and classic noir moments, this is a film not to be missed by lovers of all things noir.
• The Strength of Water (below) — having Maori parentage, I like to pay special attention to films from indigenous New Zealand filmmakers. The Strength of Water is definitely worth the gaze. A unique look at the complexity of grief through the eyes of a 10-year-old living in an isolated Maori community. Beautiful, naturalistic, creative and moving. A must-see.
• Van Dieman’s Land — the infamous tale of Australia’s very own Hannibal Lecter gets the big screen treatment from a filmmaker heading for the stratosphere.Subdivison — Brisbanite Ash Bradman (from Nova radio fame) wrote and stars in this appealing comedy set in semirural Hervey Bay. Fans of Aussie films like Crackerjack, The Castle and Kenny are likely to enjoy this.
• The Cove — along with Cathy Henkel’s The Burning Season, this has to be one of the most important documentaries of the year and looks at the culling of dolphins in the picturesque town of Tokyo, Japan. Part horror film, part espionage thriller and part environmental documentary, The Cove is all part's essential viewing. It Might Get Loud — there’s no time for air guitar in this documentary which takes the audience on a candid trip into the world of three of rock’s most iconic electric guitarists; Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin), the Edge (U2), and Jack White (The White Stripes).
• Black Dynamite — if I even have to explain to you the plot of this film, given the sheer volume of posts about it on this blog, then you deserve to be pimp-slapped into a China cabinet. Here’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about.
• Dead Snow — Tarantino and Rodriguez fans, like myself, are likely to adore the work of the Norwegian lads behind this low-budget, horror slapstick about Nazi zombies. Writer/director Tommy Wirkola and writer/star Stig Frode Henriksen have been pipped for big things since their debut short Kill Buljo and their first feature doesn’t disappoint. Catch their work before it explodes as their next film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters has been picked up by The Weinstein Company (bada-boom).
• Storage — a tense, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from Brisbane filmmaker Michael Craft and starring Gold Coast actor Matt Scully in the lead role. An impressively clever debut from Craft who shot the film in storage facilities in and around Brisvegas. Creepy.
• The Horsemen — containing what is said to be one of the `most amazing fight scenes captured’ is there really any other reason to see this?

Ticket prices are cheap as chips compared to a normal outing at the movies and BIFF is running a series of workshops where you can meet the director, producer, writer and/or stars of some of the films.

The Gold Coast Film Fantastic opened with a bang (and then some) at Australia Fair Birch Caroll & Coyle cinema's tonight with everyone from Oscar winning special effects whiz John Cox to on-screen (and possibly real life) serial-killer John Jarratt walking the red carpet.

In other highly amusing news I met a young, up and coming Australia actor who just happens to be called James Dean! And he's an actor! And young! Geddit? Sigh. Well, I found it humorous... especially whilst trying to interview him a Marilyn Monroe impersonator was lurking in the background. Eerie.

Anyway, the GCFF is a great local initiative for movie makers and film lovers alike. Festival director Casey Marshall Siemer and co. showcase a selection of Australian films amongst the international offerings and organise the filmmakers to meet with distributors and industry insiders during the event. For cinephiles however, the GCFF is a superb way to see a huge variety of films weeks, even months, before they're released in Oz cinemas.

But with more than 21 films and 7 free outdoor screenings across three days, it's easy to get lost amongst the sheer volume of movies at this year's GCFF. From documentaries and animated films, to romantic comedies and horror, there's something for the cinephile in all of us. Here's my guide to some of the festival highlights:

The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
Taking out the audience award at this year's Toronto Film Festival, this is an inspirational look at two of New Zealand's national treasures whose radical protest songs have been entertaining the world for nearly 30-years.

The Accidental Husband
Uma Thurman lowers her Samurai sword for a romantic comedy co-starring Colin Firth and Grey's Anatomy fan favourite Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

ZombielandLovers of horror and comedy can hang on to to the Halloween spirit with this mash-up of the two genres. After smashing the US box-office, Zombieland has been getting rave reviews overseas and stars Woody Harrelson, Bill Murray, Abigail Breslin and rising star Jesse Eisenberg.

Sky Crawlers
Nominated for the best animated feature film at the up and coming Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Sky Crawlers is the latest from Mamoru Oshii, director of anime classic Ghost in the Shell. A slow-paced mystery, the animation is incredible with some of the best flight fight sequences ever created.

Prime Mover
Possibly the first love triangle to involve a man, woman and a truck, Prime Mover is the latest from Australian writer/director David Caesar.

BronsonOne of the most talked about drama's of the year, Bronson explores the bare knuckled reality of real life criminal Charles Bronson who has spent the last 30-years in solitary confinement for crimes committed in jail including murder and taking hostages. Oh, it also stars a beefed-up Tom Hardy (above) in his breakout roll.

The Coolangatta Gold This year's race may be over, but relive the excitement with the 1984 film that made the iconic ironman race famous.

I.C.U
From Gold Coast director Aash Aaron, this edge-of-your-seat offering follows three teens in a Surfers Paradise high rise who play a game of cat and mouse with a serial killer.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
This is one for the kids and kids at heart Inspired by a children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky thanks to the invention of a young, wacky scientist. Though I rolled my eyes at the trailer, a four star review from Empire has sparked my interest.

P.S. And I bring you another trailer fresh off the inter-web from another movie on 5 horror movies I must see in 2015 list; Date Night! Yes, the Steve Carrell, Tina Fey led comedy with possibly the best supporting cast ever - Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Leighton Meester, Ray Liotta, Common, Kristen Wiig and more. Oh, did I mention Mark Wahlberg? Did I mention he's shirtless in the trailer? HELL YES! Watch and drool. Thoughts? The trailer looks like its been put together a bit tackily but there appears to be some good moments. We'll have to wait another six months to see the actual movie though. Sigh.

DB Export 33 celebrates the hard work men put in to looking good for their significant others by drinking low carb beer in their latest ad. New Zealand beer Export 33 targets women in its latest tongue-in-cheek campaign by encouraging women to get their partners to drink the slow-brewed beer.
The spot features a dreamy guy in a tuxedo, playing a piano who poses strange scenarios around why men who drink Export 33 are drinking it for the woman in their life. via: Adnews
Credits:
Creative Ad Agency: Colenso BBDO
Director: Tim Bullock
Creative Director: Levi Slavin
Producer: Craig Sinclair
Production company: Prodigy