Too Many Cooks?
Every year, in the build up to Christmas, many brands take to the screen in a bid to be a part of consumers’ festivities by sharing some joy. But none draw attention to the screen as much as the magical stories told by John Lewis and Adam & Eve/DDB. The ads transport the audience to another world through a different style of storytelling each year such as the animated ‘The Bear and the Hare’, the heartwarming ‘Monty the Penguin’, the sad ‘Man on the Moon’, and the delightful ‘Buster the Boxer’.
John Lewis and Adam & Eve/DDB have been working together since 2009 and when speaking to Campaign, the agency’s founding partner and chief creative officer Ben Priest describes John Lewis’ director of marketing, Craig Inglis, as being in the kitchen with the agency, worrying, suggesting and endlessly questing for the best ideas. As a result, the pair have fostered a great level of trust and an innate understanding of the brand and its customers.
That ongoing relationship is proving successful for both parties but it’s not a one size fits all in kitchens across adland. Some clients have waved goodbye to the traditional monogamous agency model and prefer to have a number of cooks in the kitchen.
In the past year, BNZ has taken Colenso BBDO off retainer, ASB ended its partnership with Saatchi & Saatchi, Frucor and AMP have partnered with Many Minds on a project basis and most recently Kiwibank took Assignment Group off retainer.
Looking through a broader scope beyond the past year and outside of New Zealand, the move is certainly not a new one and yet when Kiwibank’s news broke on StopPress, the comment section was quick to fill with questions and opinions.
One commenter was so unconvinced they said: “It’s a good idea if you can make it work. But to be honest it’s very clear that 99 percent of the time the fragmented model doesn’t work.”
Time will tell what the
