Go Your Own Way

AUCKLAND, Today: Steinlager has this week launched a moving new brand platform championing “New Zealand’s finest”, led by an epic new 90” spot created by DDB Aotearoa.

The spot, directed by celebrated Kiwi filmmaker Lee Tamahori, follows some of New Zealand’s finest exponents – the plucky members of the 1995 Peace Flotilla who sailed to Mururoa atoll to protest French nuclear testing in the Pacific.

This rag-tag fleet of homegrown legends caused enough of an international stir that the French never tested in the Pacific again.

Geoff Kidd, senior brand manager for Steinlager, says the Peace Flotilla story is a great example of New Zealand’s character. It was an act of selfless bravery that united the nation, with all the hallmarks of Kiwi resourcefulness and spirit.

“As a brand Steinlager has grown to encompass a range of products for a range of tastes, but as we diversify our range, the challenge is to ensure the core essence of Steinlager isn’t diluted,” he said.

“In collaboration with the exceptional strategists at DDB Aotearoa, we landed on New Zealand’s finest as a way of capturing both the essence of the brand and the feeling we want to champion for Kiwis.”

DDB Aotearoa & Australia regional chief creative officer Damon Stapleton says the Steinlager team gave them a very ambitious brief: Uniting New Zealand in pride.

“New Zealand’s Finest – Peace Flotilla, launched yesterday via tvc, print, OOH, social, digital and PR.”

“It’s an admirable goal, but how do you actually do it? We had to ask ourselves some pretty big questions like what does it mean to be Kiwi and in this increasingly fractured time how do you find and celebrate a moment we can all be proud of?”

He says that in exploring the problem, the team were increasingly drawn to the idea of an independent streak that runs through the heart of all Kiwis: “There’s a reason why we chose the track we did [‘Go your own way’].

“If you ask Kiwis to pinpoint the moments we’re most proud of, they often crystallise as these moments of defiance, often on the world stage. New Zealand’s finest are people who take a stand – a voice of defiance from the edge of the world.”

To capture the Peace Flotilla story authentically, the team consulted with Dan Salmon and Marty Taylor, two Kiwi blokes who joined a Peace Flotilla crew and set sail aboard the Chimera all those years ago to unknowingly become embedded in New Zealand’s history.

“For me, the original Peace Flotilla captures the spirit of who we are in Aotearoa New Zealand,” says Salmon. “We’ll take on pretty much anything, including spending months at sea in small yachts to stare down a global nuclear power. It’s part of who we are and I’m really pleased to be sharing that story 25 years later in this film.

New Zealand’s Finest, Peace Flotilla, launches 6 December via tvc, print, OOH, social, digital and PR.

CREDITS

Client: Steinlager
Commercial Director: Craig Baldie
National Marketing Director: Rachel Ellerm
Brand Director – Classics and Lagers of the World: Jeremy Meech
Senior Brand Manager – Steinlager: Geoffrey Kidd
Brand Manager – Steinlager: Kate Abercrombie

Agency: DDB Group Aotearoa
Chief Creative Officer: Damon Stapleton
Creative Director: James Conner and Christie Cooper
Business Partner: Jennifer Travers
Business Director: Megan Wailes
Business Director: Michael Doolan
Business Coordinator: Maddie Page
Chief Strategy Officer: Rupert Price
Executive Planning Director: Lucinda Sherborne
Executive Producer: Judy Thompson
Lead Integrated Producer: Samantha Royal
Integrated Producer: Melissa Ching

Production Company: Fish
Executive Producer: James Moore and Samantha Attenborough
Producer: Samantha Attenborough
Director: Lee Tamahori
DOP: John Toon
Production Designer: Bruce Everard
Costume: Barbara Darragh
Offline Editor: Luke Haigh @ Mandy FX
Colourist: Matic Prusnik @ Mandy FX
Online: Mandy VFX @ Blockhead
Music Arrangement: Peter van de Fluit, Liquid Studios
Sound Design: Craig Matuschka, Liquid Studios
Music Licensing: Jonathan Mihaljevich, Franklin Road

PR Agency: Mango
General Manager: Sean Brown
Senior Account Director: Max Burt
Account Manager: Rebecca Dawson
Account Executive: Elysha Taylor

Media Agency: MediaCom
Business Director: Stephen Larsen
Senior Account Manager: Amy MacKinnon
Digital Account Manager: George Coslett
Investment Manager: Holly Shaw
Investment Specialist: Lauren Turner
Investment Specialist: Jessie Cramond
Investment Graduate: Ashley Smith