Award to N.Z.

Press, 28 June 1989, Page 33

Award to N.Z.

A low-budget New Zealand television commercial has won a Clio award in New York. Young and Rubicam’s "Karate Man” was the best of 3494 entries in winning in the “Best Home Products” television commercial category of this year’s Clio awards, in which 70 countries took part. The 15-second advertisement was for N.Z. Brickmakers, part of the Ceramco group. Brickmakers was about to double its production capacity though the building industry was in recession. Young and Rubicam’s creative director, Mr Lynn Smith, said: “Our creative strategy was to show Brickmakers clay pavers as exceptionally strong — stronger even than concrete pavers. "We resisted the usual warm, fuzzy, commercial and went for a dramatic demonstration of strength.” The advertisement features

a tough-looking, bald, karate exponent delivering a karate chop to a Brickmakers paver. When his hand strikes the paver, he watches stunned, as he disintegrates and crumbles away instead of the paver. The unusual animation was produced by Electric Pencil using a computer system electronically to pull apart the filmed image of the man’s body. The commercial ran tor only three weeks last year, yet sales are way ahead of budget. It was not shown in the South Island. Credits for the Clio award go to the marketing manager of N.Z. Brickmakers, Stephen King; Young and Rubicam’s writer, Lynn Smith; art director, Nic Hall; the producer, Stephanie Bauer; Morningside Production’s director, Keith Lambert; Electric Pencil’s Ray Richards for animation; and sound effects by John Mackay, of Soundworks.