A decade of Stickman: the budget ad that became iconic

10 years at one place is a milestone for any employee, so PAK’nSAVE and FCB wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. Stickman asked for a gold watch but the budget wouldn’t stretch that far. Instead, FCB suggested a special TVC using some recently uncovered VHS tapes of the original auditions carried out a decade ago.

Peter Vegas and Leisa Wall, Creative Group Heads on the account, said after going through the tapes, they were impressed by the choices the team had, but are glad Billy McQueen and Chris Schofield (the original creative leads) chose Stickman to champion ‘New Zealand’s Lowest Prices’ for PAK’nSAVE.

“Stickman embodies all things savey, bringing low supermarket prices, as well as LOLs superbly voiced by Paul Ego to Kiwi families,” says Vegas.

For 10 years Stickman has been working hard to represent the brand, perfectly illustrating their policy of New Zealand’s lowest food prices.

“Stickman has been an amazing asset for PAK’nSAVE. Compared to other brands in the category he makes every dollar work incredibly hard. PAK’nSAVE runs relatively low media weights at around 15% share of spend. But Stickman is without doubt the most recognised and recalled voice in grocery.

“And while he may not beat the Briscoes’ lady for longevity just yet, he has certainly made up for it in celebrity and laughs,” says Steve Bayliss, Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd, Group General Manager Marketing.

Bayliss adds it’s great working with a ‘personality’ like Stickman. He isn’t afraid to take on topical events and by using his genuine sense of humour, he is able to court the odd bit of controversy.

“He waded into the New Zealand flag debate with his perfect self-styled Stickman flag design, which unbelievably didn’t get picked up. And, recently gave Tinder a trial for Valentine’s Day with somewhat mixed results – it turns out that while Kiwi chicks weren’t into Stickman’s raw sex appeal, Kiwi blokes frequently swiped right and seem to love his devil-may-care attitude.”

The 60 second spot launches this week and is supported by radio, in-store point of sale, cinema, digital, social media and a special sale in honour of New Zealand’s most well-known Stickman.

The NZ Herald also wrote an article on Stickman’s anniversary. You can see it here.