Putting age-old sporting rivalries aside and extending the arm of antipodean friendship, Tourism NZ has created a new campaign to attract Aussies to the land of the long white cloud through a series of documentaries tailing some of New Zealand's most prominent musicians to their secret favourite places.
The four-minute documentaries, titled MTV's Guide to NZ, follows local musicians Scribe, Liam Finn, and the Mint Chicks as they tour their homeland picking out their favourite spots to eat, drink and be merry. The films follow Scribe snorkeling for paua, The Mint Chicks tucking into their favourite burger at Ferg Burgers in Queenstown, and Liam Finn swearing by the homemade pies at The Fridge in Kingsland.
Director Miki Magasiva of Curious Auckland says the brief was incredibly open: "MTV wanted three musicians to show us around their hometown, and that was pretty much it. I thought it was really brave because it's only natural for clients and agencies to want to know exactly what's going on. But both MTV and NZ Tourism were very trusting of that original concept."
In each film, Magasiva follows the musicians off the beaten track to places where they like to hang out. "Some venues are a bit grungy and dirty, others are in the weirdest places, like in the middle of a suburb in Auckland where you won't find any tourists," explains the director. "We just asked the guys where they like to go and went there, simple as that."
The intimate series is aimed at offering a different angle on the 100 per cent Pure New Zealand campaign, and to push New Zealand to the top of the travel destination list for 16 to 24 year olds in Australia.
The artists were strategically selected to represent a wide spectrum of music genres and music tastes. The client, agencies, MTV and Curious agreed it was important to give each artist the freedom to tell the story of their hometown in their own words, using their own experiences.
Magasiva wanted an open, honest and casual feel to the documentaries so got to know the artists quickly to ensure they wouldn't hold back for the cameras: "I wanted them to behave naturally without holding back, because that was where we were going to find new and raw things that the audience hasn't seen before - and I think we did that," he states. "I don't think we've ever seen one of Scribe's boys eating a paua pooh-sack. I was straight up with the guys and let them know every step of the way what we were doing and why we were doing it. We didn't just quietly turn the cameras on when they weren't looking and try and steal a natural moment. Musicians don't like that."
Tourism NZ has advertised on MTV before, but this is the first time it has collaborated with them to produce an integrated campaign.
"MTV wanted to create a series of interstitials that captured the personal, undiscovered New Zealand," explains Vanessa Zuppicich, CD of Brand Solutions at MTV Networks Australia. "Word of mouth is powerful recommendation for MTV's audiences and by working with these musicians, who all have credibility in Australia, we were able to take this approach even further. MTV's Guide to NZ is about real stories by real artists and the place they call home."
The miniature documentaries won't feature on New Zealand television, and instead will be rolled out on MTV Australia - but you can watch the three films below.
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