1. KiwiBurger – McDonalds (1997)
Another song created specifically for a Kiwi ad, this one goes all out on name-dropping Kiwi culture, listing Kiwiana items ranging from rugby balls to the Maori haka in an epic thirty-second commercial that finishes with “Kiwiburger that’s our tucker”. Throughout the ad, the Kiwi items referenced are shown on-screen, along with all sorts of other Kiwi-related things.
2. Bugger – Toyota Hilux (1999)
A legendary ad in New Zealand, the ad plays on Kiwis farming heritage, our ironic sense of humour and a curse word. The ad had 120 complaints to the advertising standards authority, and yet, it still ran and is remembered today as one of NZ’s greatest of all time.
3. Tomato sauce – Watties (1999)
Culture and nostalgia go together in this ad from the late 90’s, which references Kiwi summer, slang and activities but claims that despite doing all of these things, “you’ll never be a Kiwi until you love our Watties sauce”.
4. Stubbies – L&P (2005)
Jemaine Clement narrates this classic ad that talks about another iconic Kiwi item – stubbies. This call-back ad asks Kiwis to remember the popularity of the clothing item, and to remind us that L&P was around then to come along for the ride with us - “You were there, and so was L&P, world famous in New Zealand since ages ago”.
5. Undies and Togs – Trumpet (2006)
“Togs, togs, togs, togs… undies, undies, undies, undies, undies”. Once you hear it, it’s hard to forget it! Now everyone knows the rules about togs and undies, and this ad probably is part of the reason why people don’t wear speedos anymore.
6. Sharpen Up – Lift Plus/Coca-Cola (2006)
Before the prank craze spread across YouTube, New Zealand had a series of ads featuring a bunch of mates playing practical jokes on each other. The series says that you need to ‘sharpen up’ by drinking Lift Plus to not fall victim to the jokes. This ad series inspired a friendly prank movement in NZ and Kiwis telling each other to ‘sharpen up’.
7. Sandpit/Kids DIY– Mitre 10 (2007)
A legendary ad that is memorable due to its light-hearted dig at Australian’s, this ad plays up Kiwi’s desire to build things themselves and highlights our trans-Tasman rivalry with Australia. It became a classic with Kiwis who resonated with the ad immediately. The lines, “she’s a pretty big job”, “do it yourself” and ““mate you’re dreaming”, still get repeated ten years later.
8. Nothing to hide – AirNZ (2009)
It is the advertisement/flight safety video that is credited with starting off Air NZ’s regular yearly award-winning safety videos. The massive success of this campaign has helped Air NZ maintain their place as Airline of the Year and New Zealand’s most reputable company for many years since its release in 2010.
9. Legend/Ghost Chips – NZ Transport Agency (2011)
One of the NZTA’s long-recurring “stop a mate driving drunk - bloody legend” ads, this is arguably NZ’s most quoted ad of all time. Popular lines to quote include “bro, Monique says you’re dumb”, “puzzle time”, “you know I can’t grab your ghost chips”, “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head” and “just crash here”. Once again, humour drives home the message: if you stop a mate from driving drunk then you are a legend.
10. Freeze! - NZ Police Recruitment (2017)
A fun take on police recruitment that went viral for all the right reasons. This well-shot, high-production video was a hit in both New Zealand and overseas. Its set-pieces, role-swapping and fast-pace is an interesting, relevant take on the work that the NZ police do. Its Kiwi humour was well-received, and those interested in potentially joining the profession will still see enough action to inspire them to apply.
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