Silver - Volcano
Issue 17 | December 2010
Agency
Saatchi & Saatchi NZ
Creative Team
Creative Director: Mike Sullivan; Creatives: Stephen de Wolf, Paul Coghlan; Client: Marc Ellis
Production Team
Director: Glen Elliot
Other Credits
Account Manager: Louise Chater
Date
February 2008
Background
Saatchi & Saatchi were tasked with launching mintshot.co.nz, a new website that pays people for watching ads. The brainchild of TV star and prankster Marc Ellis, (a former All Black rugby player) the website’s tagline was ‘it pays to watch’. The agency felt they had to create an event really worth watching – something that the media would want pick up on.
Idea
While mintshot.co.nz was hosting a champagne breakfast to launch the website, Auckland’s largest volcano, Rangitoto Island, erupted. At the launch, and all over the city, people dropped what they were doing to stop and stare. With the arrival of news crews, it was revealed that it was Marc Ellis and mintshot.co.nz who were behind the stunt, as a plane soared over the city towing the banner ‘mintshot.co.nz – it pays to watch’.
Results
Thanks to the magnitude and scale of the stunt, the campaign featured on television, radio, in newspapers, and was plastered all over New Zealand’s online spaces. The free media coverage was worth ten times the client’s original campaign investment and ultimately provided the most successful New Zealand website launch ever (according to Nielsen Netratings). Mintshot got top ten unique browsers across all categories, and #1 time for spent on the site (entertainment category).
Our Thoughts
We really liked the fictitious nature of the stunt which instigated such media frenzy.