Let Me Tell You About the Best 7 Seconds in NZ Advertising
There’s a 7-second cold open in a beer ad from 2013 that I still think about. No product shot. No tagline. Just two guys sitting in a beat-up Corolla, silently watching a storm roll in. Then, as the rain hits the windscreen, one of them says, “Told you it’d come.” That’s it. And it floors me every time.
Why? Because it treats the audience like we’re already in on it. That storm isn’t just weather, it’s atmosphere, tension, context. It’s how old mates talk — low-stakes but thick with meaning. Most ads shout. This one whispered. That’s what New Zealand advertising used to nail: moments so local they felt universal.
Over the last 5 years, however, our marketing scene got distracted. We chased shiny. Everyone wanted to be the next viral Cannes darling, looping TikToks and crypto tie-ins into briefs that forgot they were supposed to sell socks. But something’s shifting in 2025. You can feel it in the quiet comeback of subtle storytelling. The new Te Whānau skincare ads do this beautifully: no big narration, just intimate, cinematically mundane moments — a dad teaching his son how to pat moisturiser into his skin like it matters. Because it does.
We’re finally remembering that emotion sells, and humanity sticks. It’s not retro to write restraint into your copy, or let silence carry a message. If anything, it’s progressive. I want more awkward glances, interrupted conversations, half-eaten toast. I want an ad that feels like a memory. Because we’ve tried loud. Maybe now we’re sophisticated enough to try real again.
Why? Because it treats the audience like we’re already in on it. That storm isn’t just weather, it’s atmosphere, tension, context. It’s how old mates talk — low-stakes but thick with meaning. Most ads shout. This one whispered. That’s what New Zealand advertising used to nail: moments so local they felt universal.
Over the last 5 years, however, our marketing scene got distracted. We chased shiny. Everyone wanted to be the next viral Cannes darling, looping TikToks and crypto tie-ins into briefs that forgot they were supposed to sell socks. But something’s shifting in 2025. You can feel it in the quiet comeback of subtle storytelling. The new Te Whānau skincare ads do this beautifully: no big narration, just intimate, cinematically mundane moments — a dad teaching his son how to pat moisturiser into his skin like it matters. Because it does.
We’re finally remembering that emotion sells, and humanity sticks. It’s not retro to write restraint into your copy, or let silence carry a message. If anything, it’s progressive. I want more awkward glances, interrupted conversations, half-eaten toast. I want an ad that feels like a memory. Because we’ve tried loud. Maybe now we’re sophisticated enough to try real again.