Griffin’s captures a day in the life of New Zealand to launch its new ‘Life Needs a Biscuit’ campaign via Motion Sickness, Tuesday Club and PHD
Griffin’s is back. This week, the iconic snack brand has launched an unconventional new campaign via Motion Sickness: a series of 24 micro-documentaries capturing 24 hours of life across Aotearoa New Zealand-one story for every hour of the day, told one biscuit at a time.
Titled Life Needs a Biscuit, the series offers an intimate, unfiltered portrait of the country—told through the quiet, often overlooked moments that make up everyday life.
Created in collaboration with Motion Sickness, The Tuesday Club and acclaimed documentary filmmaker Florian Habicht, the campaign steps away from traditional advertising formats in favour of something more observational and human. Each film sits somewhere between documentary and vignette—small, honest slices of life that together build a wider cultural picture.
From morning dips to night shifts, the series maps the rhythm of a single day through the pauses people take for themselves.
Says director Florian Habicht: “What struck me most was the openness of people. There’s a rawness to these stories, people doing it tough, people finding joy where they can. These are small moments, but they carry a lot of meaning.”
Rather than positioning the brand as the hero, the campaign places Griffin’s within the fabric of everyday life, present in the background of moments that feel recognisably, authentically New Zealand.
Says Griffin’s Allison Yorston: “We wanted to celebrate the everyday, the moments that don’t make it onto social media. Smoko breaks, late nights with friends, first dates, a phone call with family – that’s where real life happens.”
The insight came from conversations with New Zealanders who expressed a growing desire to slow down and reconnect, despite the increasing pace of modern life.
Says Yorston: “What really came through is that the simplest things are often the most valuable. Time with others. A moment to pause. Being present. Griffin’s has always been part of those small rituals, and this series reflects that.”
A brand long embedded in New Zealand’s cultural pantry, Griffin’s leans into its place in the everyday, not through nostalgia, but by showing its role in contemporary life, across both the profound and the mundane.
Adds Yorston: “We’re incredibly proud of the series. It’s a reflection of who we are as a country, you might even recognise someone. That’s the beauty of it.”
The result is a campaign that feels less like advertising and more like a portrait, a mosaic of life in New Zealand that unfolds hour by hour.
Says Sam Stuchbury, ECD, Motion Sickness: “Making one good ad is usually pretty hard. So when we decided to make 24 films that are technically ads, we probably should’ve known it might nearly break us. But Allison and the team have been incredible collaborators. I’m not sure this body of work would’ve been possible with many other teams. We’re very proud of the films.
“Life really does need a biscuit right now, and it will in the future too, this brand platform is here for the long run. I can’t wait for New Zealand to fall in love with New Zealand again, and to continue its love affair with Griffin’s.”
The micro-docos will be released on lifeneedsabiscuit.com with the films set to roll out across TV, social and streaming over the coming year.
Client: Griffin’s
Managing Director: Cameron Scott
Marketing Director: Allison Yorston
Head of Marketing, Griffin’s / H&P: Kate Goodwin
Senior Brand Manager, Griffin’s: Alice Green
Senior Consumer Insights & Planning Lead: Zena Ali
Creative Agency: Motion Sickness
Executive Creative Director: Sam Stuchbury
Head of Strategy: Hilary Ngan Kee
Senior Strategist: Logan Barnes
General Manager: Alex McManus
Client Service Director: Emma Richardson
Account Director: Julia Shasha
Creative Director: Will Macdonald
Senior Designer: Patrick Hickley
Artworker: Moana Peterson
Head of Production: Joseph McAlpine
The Tuesday Club
Founder: Nick Worthington
Managing Director: James McHoull
Creative: Billy Worthington
Production Company: Motion Sickness
Director: Florian Habicht
Executive Producer: Nigel Sutton
Director of Photography: Maria Ines Manchego
Producer/Production Manager: Becks Lawrence
Production Designer: Teresa Peters
Make-up: Katie Melody Rogers
Offline Editor: Anastasia Doniants
Offline/Online Editor: Damian Golfinopoulos, Arvid Eriksson
Colourist: Max Ferguson-Hook
Sound Design: Glen Cleaver @ BigPop Studios
Sound Post Producer: Juliette Veber @ BigPop Studios
Casting: Catch Casting
Media Agency: PHD
Group Business Director: Delaney Collings
Associate Business Director: Jamie Buchan
Featured Talent:
Te Reo o Piriwiritua (The Rātana Brass Band), Renee, Rufus, Maeve, Oluwatosin, Joy, Georgia, Isabelle, Bonnie, Steven, Tim, Sheila, The Foundry Boxing Gym, Teresa, Joann, Kerikeri Rugby Football Club, The Law Family, Leni and Cindy, Chris, Faiva, Teuke, Uelese, Hazel, Carmen, Iris, The Red Beach Singing Group, Tyler, Craig, Oska, Michael, John and Olive.
Register for FREE HERE and receive the Campaign Brief Daily Bulletin and/or the global Best Ads Best of the Week Bulletin. Subscribe to Campaign Brief Magazine.
#More Creative News #No paywalls #No annual membership fees
Subscribe to Portfolio & Reel for current listings of Australian and NZ ad agency and production company leadership and key personnel