When the creative is this clever, nothing else really Mazdas

Listen, if Ad Nut knew Ad Nut would be sitting here one day trying to hawk you a Mazda CX-90, Ad Nut would’ve jumped off a tree or two higher because clearly, the impossible is possible.

You see, Ad Nut’s vibe is much more of a vintage car with the roof down, the buttery sun and dancing wind caressing every inch of silken fur, as Ad Nut zooms down a faraway highway off the coast of a foreign European town.

But so delightfully toasty is The Monkeys Aotearoa’s (part of Accenture Song) new Mazda CX-60 and CX-90 campaign for New Zealand, that even Ad Nut might be willing to retire the old Mustang and pop into a hatchback with a lid for a bit.

Consisting of four films as well as OOH, print, digital and social, the campaign explores a spectrum of human emotions (Ad Nut usually cares not for these frivolities) from desire to triumphant happiness to jealousy and downright righteous anger, to tell Kiwis about the many great reasons why they should want a Mazda.

In the first film, ‘Desire’, we find our protagonist sitting behind the wheel of his car beside his unidentified lady-friend (she’s giving passenger princess) as he stares out of his windshield window longingly. His eyes trace something he deeply desires as it fleets past. The voiceover tells us that she (lady-friend) worries that he’s staring, knowing that he’s “dreaming of something better,” and just as the music crescendos, he declares: “I need an upgrade." The lady-friend is horrified for a moment until realisation kicks in, followed by a snazzy shot of the CX-90 cruising down a tunnel with the narrator concluding, "You get more in a Mazda."

The other three films follow a similar vein, narrating stories from a seething archnemesis neighbour (it’s always a Greg) to a catty soccer mum who gets put in her place upon seeing what a rival mum is driving, and another lady-friend (Ad Nut doesn't make assumptions about relationship statuses) regretting her choices after an argument with her man-friend, as the new Mazda zooms by.

The result is a cheeky, light-hearted, and rather fun campaign that manages to cleverly harness the all-too-relatable feelings that every human has undergone (so Ad Nut hears) when someone else has something you want or vice versa. The characters all feel tangible and familiar, like they could be someone you’d meet in your own life and want to show off your flashy new car to, especially if they’ve been a dusty acorn to you in the past.

Ad Nut would like to give an honourable mention to the OOH, digital and social assets for this campaign, which very much encapsulate the retro energy of classic car ads gone by (think Porsche print, circa the 1960s) with their albeit less provocative, but still catchy taglines. Ad Nut would especially like to give paws-of-applause to whoever (or whichever) creative(s) came up with the ‘Fall head over wheels’ caption. It made Ad Nut giggle with a wiggle, so endless cashews for you.

And whilst Mazda’s New Zealand general manager for marketing, Terrianne Brown, shared: “You get more in a Mazda is literally true. You get more features, better craftsmanship, design and a market-leading service plan”– for Ad Nut, the real winner of this campaign is the inherent lack of overhyping of the cars’ technical features. It's also admirably audacious for a non luxury-specific automotive brand to wittily tap into longing as a selling point, proving it really is all about confidence when it comes to the dances of seduction and desire.

It might be tempting to spin the wheels all day when championing vehicular engineering and all its machine marvels, but Ad Nut reckons steering away from this tactic is exactly what’s allowed Mazda to accelerate this horse-powered campaign without a clutch.

CREDITS:

Client: Mazda

Managing Director: David Hodge

General Manager – Marketing: Terrianne Brown

Creative Agency: The Monkeys Aotearoa, part of Accenture Song

Chief Creative Officer: Damon Stapleton

Chief Business Officer: Storm Day

Creative Director: Christie Cooper

Creative Director: James Conner

Junior Art Director: Susannah O’hUadhaigh

Junior Copywriter: Arron Sharma

Head of Integrated Production: Rosie Grayson

Integrated Producer: Callum Crabb

Design Lead: Lorenz Perry

Senior Finished Artist: Lisa Stowers

Studio Designer: Vivian Heng

Planning Director: Craig McLeod

Business Director: Michael Doolan

Business Manager: Jackson Edgecombe

Media Agency: MBM

Client Service Director: Deborah Brown

Group Business Director: Hilary Lill

Production Company: FINCH

Director: Derin Seale

Producer: Jimena Murray

Managing Director: Corey Esse

Executive Producer: Rebekah ‘Bex’ Kelly

Cinematographer: Gin Loane

Production Designer: Jon Lithgow

Costume Designer: Kristin Seth

Editor: Julian Currin

Casting: Kate McGill

Colourist: Pete Ritchie

VFX: Creature Post

Audio Post: Liquid Studios

Original Music: Peter van der Fluit

Sound Design: Craig Matuschka

Retouching: Sixtyfour

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.