Lemon & Paeroa gives two zombies the best day ever in latest campaign via DDB New Zealand
Lemon & Paeroa is back and more “Refreshingly Different” than ever in its new campaign, Best Day Ever. Teaming up with DDB New Zealand, L&P are celebrating a humorously different view of the world by following two guys who are having the best day of their lives.
Launching this week, Best Day Ever goes against the grain of Hollywood’s harsh zombie stereotype, instead choosing to show that by living differently, everyone, even zombies, can break from the norm and have fun doing it. A uniquely Kiwi campaign for an iconic New Zealand brand, Best Day Ever will inspire punters to strive for a life of freedom and fun.
Damon Stapleton, regional chief creative officer, DDB NZ & AU, says the beauty of the Refreshingly Different brand platform is its ability to revisit well-trod paths in new ways, in this case injecting genuine, simple humour into the classic zombie genre with all its tropes and quirks attached.
Says Stapleton: “Zombies are brilliantly fun to play with. L&P wanted to continue on from the success of On the Lamb, with that great tale of friendship, by bringing that same feeling with zombies – I think we succeeded in that. Each activity these zombie mates get up to is something we can relate to and laugh at.”
Laura Knight, marketing manager for L&P, says they wanted to highlight the way this brand does things a little differently. Kiwis have built up high expectations for L&P ads over the years and the team were conscious of living up to that.
Says Knight: “We wanted an attention grabbing campaign that celebrates our position as an iconic brand with iconic ads, by putting a new spin on our long term Refreshingly Different platform. Our two zombie friends are certainly different and having the time of their lives!”
L&P’s new campaign, Best Day Ever, will roll out across TV, cinema, social and digital channels.
Client: Lemon & Paeroa
General Manager Strategy & Brand: Wendy Rayner
Head of Marketing and Design: Angela Broad
Marketing Manager: Laura Knight
Agency: DDB New Zealand
Regional Chief Creative Officer, NZ/AU: Damon Stapleton
Executive Creative Director: Gary Steele
Creative Director: Rory McKechnie
Senior Art Director: Zac Lancaster
Art Director: Sarsha Drakeford
Copywriter: Sylvia Humphries
Managing Partner: Nikki McKelvie
Senior Business Director: Crystal Clark
Executive Planning Director: Lucinda Sherborne
Business Manager: Violet Hong
Business Manager: Ravina Raju
Executive Agency Producer: Judy Thompson
Agency Producer: Samantha Royal
Production Company: Sweetshop
Director: Damien Shatford
Executive Producer: Ben Dailey
Producer: Lynnette Gordon
DOP: Marty Williams
Editor: Tim Mauger
Post Production online: The Machine Room
VFX: Stu Bedford
Colourist: Dave Gibson
Post Producer: Hannah Walker
Music: Sheryl Crow – All I Wanna Do
Audio: Jon Cooper, The Coopers
Photographer: Troy Goodall
Music Licensing: Jonathan Mihaljevich, Franklin Road
70 Comments
The new ad makes me want to puke! Very dark & creepy! Far from the original flavour & Kiwi iconic goodtime / summertime refreshing drink, with a fun/positive feeling. It’s a NO from me & I would fire the Ad Agencey! p.s. you also spoilt the Sheryl Crowe song..
…do you reckon it misses the refreshing bit of refreshingly different? Where’s the appeal to actually drink it? It doesn’t make me want to sip on an L&P as my mullet shelters my neck from the hot summer’s sun.
Goulish fun!?♂️ ?
Well done. Wish I had done this. By the way I think we have moved on from mullets. Nostalgia is not the way forward.
That was entertaining. Nice work! Nice to have a CSD brand entertain me and not just show a couple of 2o somethings jumping off a warf and sipping the damn drink on the beach.
I felt both sad and embarrassed for DDB.
Wish I had done it. Really mullets? Nostalgia is not the way forward.
This is the most disgusting ad and pretty poor to be playing it during the time young kids are watching to give them nightmares.
Need to rethink cause this kind of ad has nothing to do with the great taste of L&P.
This is a very disturbing ad and completely out of context with your (previously solid) brand. It’s disturbing that you air this type of format in family viewing times (8:10pm tonight) when my young impressionable grandchildren can view it.
Gone off your brand completely.
This is just gross! What a sick society we live in when this crap is on main stream TV as an advert! Get a life you morons!!!
I reckon if you’re 15 this is great.
Great work. If only boring shit work got punished as much as something this good.
The nearly dead are really up in arms about this one.
Oh come on! ’Peakay’ and ‘Russell Smith’ are part of the boring minority who have never watched any of the hundreds of zombie programs and movies you can stream nowadays. Some people need to learn to lighten up. Made me sit up and watch it. And made me laugh. So it’s a thumbs up from me!
Yoof, yup.
Pea Kay? Graeme Clark being ‘funny’
Mullet nostalgians. F’s sake
What is happening in this country with advertisements like this ? It is just disgusting And I would never touch L&P after seeing this.
Mullets are back in! Great Ad, get with it people, zombies are the rage no matter the age!!
Could not have been produced better to spice up the brand. Well done!!
Ach halt den Mund. Nettes Arbeitsteam 😉
Bloody Fantastic. I love it. Very L&P. An agency and client having some fun at last. As a bonus, it’s annoying the boring so-called ‘creatives’ from other agencies.
Loooooooling at all these comments. It’s an advert. Don’t lose any sleep guys.
Dreadful add. I had the grandchildren staying who are 9 and 6 and was shown while they were still up. What a disturbing add for such a nice drink. Got it all wrong there.
I like it how every film director uses that exact same street just off K Road from the exact same angle.
Must be a rite of passage thing. Or they’re all swingers.
Other than that, I thought the ad was predictable and familiar.
Oh… has anyone asked anyone in Paeroa their thoughts on the commercial? Thought not. Just another Auckland ad, then.
Dreadful. Absolutely despicable if you ask me. The blokes who made this need to pull their heads in. I’d give them a good wack around the ear if they were my kids. They need to stop playing silly buggers and pack it in. Showed Linda this last night and she’s going to ring up the council and complain about it today. Bloody disgrace. The agency’s gone down the ringer if you ask me. I know what I’ll be drinking and it won’t be L&P, it’ll be a nice cold speights. Take a leaf out of there book I reckon.
The target audience are teens, right? This ad has their grandparents huffing and puffing. Job done.
Everyone I know that’s under 20 loves this. Job done.
@calling it, population Paeroa vs population Auckland?
This ad upset my whole family. We were watching the wrestling the other night and it came on. I turned to my hubby Colin and requested he change the channel until it had passed. Unfortunately we’ve lost the Sky remote and he’s a lazy cunt so didn’t get up to change it. But the kids were horrified. This should not be on at an 11pm time slot while primarily school children are watching TV.
I have had L and p on occasions and always enjoyed the subtle flavour and the fact that it originates from NZ. Great product! It sure doesn’t need an image of mindlessness, disrespect and sub human behaviour. L and P I’m disappointed that you have used this type of image. Your product is of a premium quality and deserves a much better image. Thank you
I’m been onto the helpline at L AND P all day trying to get to the bottom of this god awful stink up on my telly. Finally found the number for Damien Shafford the director who i called and left multiple voicemale. VERY UNNATURAL TV AD NO THANK U
‘nuf said
I’m with Big Dave.
This is genuinely 100% not worth uploading.
80% of the people commenting here belong on the NZ Herald Facebook page.
what’s an ‘Agencey’?
Welcome back Fun, Entertainment and Mischief to NZ advertising. We’ve missed you.
Why are there more male zombies than female zombies? Disgraceful.
Ad of the day in Campaign Magazine in London. But somehow you think your self righteous indignation matters.
@ Not from DDB : Bit of a history lesson here for you, L&P is short for Lemon & Paeroa.
If you manage to get out of Auckland, drive into Paeroa and you’ll notice L&P signs from about 10k out letting people know that it was once the home of L&P.
Therefore I reckon the people of Paeroa would probably have an opinion about the ad (along with the connotations about zombies).
As for this ad – a lot of money was spent on it, I hope the Auckland youth (along with its huge diversity) watch normal TV, otherwise, its a lot of money spent on nothing but folly.
Why do DDB staff feel the need to comment on their own work under pseudonyms that only wind up non DDB staff more. There are more comments on DDB ads than anything else and you reap what you sow by trying to complement your own work.
There is very simple answer to that. And it’s staring you in the face.
There does seem to be an inordinate number of grandparents commenting here.
Almost laughed my head off.
@calling it “..rolling out across TV, cinema, social media and digital channels”
Great spot…if it were for several other brands rather than L&P. Crazy that the one of the most well-loved and distinctive Kiwi brands in history would throw out all that equity and produce something so American and offbrand. Zombies, sure I guess. But Sheryl Crowe? Bowling? Really? Looks like someone fell asleep at the wheel here.
Boy did we have some fun.
LOVE THE AD . . . .SO MUCH FUN!!!
BUT DON’T LIKE L AND P . . .FAR TOO MUCH SUGAR FOR ME . . .AND I DON’T DRINK ANY PRODUCTS PUT IN PLASTIC BOTTLES EITHER.
HAVE A THINK.
Tu meke
Nice work.
I’m embarrassed to say I’ve had nightmares. I’m scared to sleep. I’ve started drinking again (not L&P) just to get through the day without those terrifying images invading my thoughts. I just want to be able to sip some fizzy lemon bevy’s without fear of my face literally dripping off. My bridge group all agree. Disgraceful. Please think of the children.
🙂 funny
Love it!!!
@calling it
I’m from Paeroa you self righteous dork.
Hallo Mädels, lasst uns diese Woche Hackney für Weihnachten buchen? vermisse dich.
I have loved L&P for more than 50 years in NZ and around the world and associate it proudly with our Kiwi image.
My family is ashamed, outraged and appalled that the company and its advertising agency have scraped the bottom of the barrel to concoct this abomination to promote our classic NZ product. Is this the imagery for our fun-loving outdoors this summer-no, it is ugly rubbish from the dark side. L&P, change your agency and give us something to compliment summer with.
PULL IT NOW!
@ DDB. I’m from there too. We probably know each other.
Shall we meet at The Refinery, order a flat white and a cream cake, put on a record and discuss how right I was?
xx
This has to be the worst advertising that a company has used – very sick
I reckon that ad is awesome I liked the clap to the song in the car. A coordinated unco zombie I like it
L&P. World famous in New Zealand.
They haven’t beaten that tagline or idea.
Everything else I read on here is just puffery or excuses.
Anyone know if this is another unintended parody of a famous South African ad from a decade ago?
I really like this one. I laughed when he missed the rugby ball catch hahah
Nice work
@Big Bottle and all the other nostalgics on here: that was then, this is now.
You’ll know what I’m quoting, because your reverence for it has petrified you into an inability to move forward or allow people younger than you to have their own likes and dislikes.
@CS: Ha, had me rolling in the aisle after reading your comment!
This ad won’t be remembered in years to come.
Like Tui (and ASB, for that matter), L&P has always struggled to beat previous campaigns. Perhaps that’s why they’re always flashing their accounts around.
‘World Famous in NZ’ is well remembered, I can’t accurately recall L&Ps current line.
I must be nostalgic. For wanting better work.
I was literally covering my child’s eyes as it was too disturbing for a 10 year old and for me, at 9:20pm. We’re having a relaxing holiday and I felt this moment was the only disappointing experience in beautiful NZ. That’s why I immediately grabbed my phone and wanted to report this ad and also left this comment here. It’s just A UNPLEASANT feeling after watching the creepy ad. I wish this ad stops as soon as possible.
It’s A Beauty
https://www.bestadsontv.com/ad/109577/LP-Best-Day-Ever
Love this advert. So different and humorous. Just fantastic! Well done and good job.
There is nothing nice about Zombies, and certainly not suitable for children to see, dis you think about them? I hate seeing it and Im an adult its grotesque and not pleasant to watch at all and hissing at normal humans at the end…If I want to watch this sort of thing I should have the choice to late at night as a program but not when Im enjoying my regular viewing to have this horrible ad pop up….shame on TVNZ for allowing this….
I love this ad, made me laugh- thought it was clever. Good on the ad agency and the client for thinking outside the box and having a great sense of humour.
My grandma hates this add and knowing my 7 year old self it would form its self into a nightmare like casper the friendly ghost did when I was four.
This is only really good for teenagers.