What if an electricity company could make you smile every time you paid a bill? Or a taboo so deep-rooted it’s never spoken about could become a national badge of pride? At Wellington’s Brainy Breakfast, two bold campaigns showed how flipping the script can shift public perception. Read more and take a deep dive...

If coffee, croissants and inspiring case studies weren’t enough incentive to be up and at’em at Wellington’s Brainy Breakfast this month, Ash at Two/FiftySeven woke our hearts beautifully sharing that just our presence alone had created $140 worth of rent relief to those who need space to create.   We’d hung out at this space before, but this time Wellington’s early bird marketing and communications professionals learned that Two/fiftySeven donate $2 for every hour each person spends collaborating in their space. $140 sounds small fry but over time $350,000 worth of rent relief has been donated.

With bold creativity at the core of what we do, this months session was about flipping the script to change behavior. We came to learn of what happens when electricity is turned into a game we play, and the journey towards de-stigmitising Herpes.

Lindsay Horne from stalwart sponsors of Marketing Association TRA reminded us just how hard changing behaviours is. People literally receive billions of signals and juggle significant cognitive load. “You have to be bold because advertising literally has between 0.01 and if you’re lucky 2-5 seconds to make an impact”.

Brave brand built digital engagement with gamification.

During winter when we’re low in spirit and our monthly leccy bills are off the charts, the big spending energy brands go to town to sway towards their power. Same power, hassle to move and let’s face it “brand love” and electricity brands don’t often sit comfortably in the same sentence.

But Tom and Leticia from Meridian’s Powershop shared how doing the unexpected paid off for their brand.

Powershop’s playful pivot

In 2009, Powershop entered this low engagement, jargon-heavy category with bullshit bingo communications that often left consumers feeling like “muppets”. Powershop with the aid of EightyOne launched with dynamic playful pink infused posters, immediately shifting the tone from the typical, patriarchal power brands.

Fast forward to the arrival of Jules, you know the amorphous pink cuddly fella who appears in their ads personifying a warm embrace in your warm home. This theatre brought to life the brand, making electricity provided by Powershop something that you feel, comforting and friendly.

Powershop's 15 year anniversary created the opportunity to metamorphosis from theatre to play. Internally, they had experimented with VR rollercoaster experiences to engage their staff, creating excitement and learning. And it was their quest to deepen the customer relationship that led to the breakthrough question: “Can you truly love someone who doesn’t make you smile?”

Embracing gamification and storytelling, Powershop tapped into the dopamine rush of getting a deal while giving power back to the consumer. With no business case, a large leap of faith and a sprinkling of time pressure to up the ante, the "Pink Smash" game campaign was born. The game tapped into consumers’ competitive instincts, with influencers, BVOD, out-of-home activations, and an easy-to-play, hard-to-master game mechanic. The concept was simple: purchase a power pack, play the game, and earn entries to win.

Tom emphasised the importance of rewarding existing customers and letting them spread the word. Customers were encouraged to share their experience on social media for bonus entries.

The campaign resulted in 143,000 players and 368,000 game completions, with 53% of participants being existing customers and 47% new to the brand. Average playtime? A staggering six minutes – an unheard-of engagement rate for an electricity company. Engagement didn’t just stay on the screen, though. It drove brand health and brought in a carefully measured 400–500 new customers.

Beyond customer acquisition, the campaign deepened relationships with existing customers, particularly women aged 30-49, and gave the brand “permission to be playful.”

Powershop’s Takeaways?

What Tom and Leticia emphasised as their learnings is that “experience drives performance”.

Look after your existing customers, create something they can engage with, and will return to, be brave, be bold, think different to your category peers. Don’t just slap on a “brand veneer.”

About they game; “commit and stay present with your audience, don’t underestimate the power of friend-get-friend from engaging your existing customers”

Breaking the Stigma: The Grand Prix-Winning Campaign That Made New Zealand the Best Place in the World to Have Herpes

When it comes to sharing the extraordinary, deep, rich, and brave thinking behind the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good-winning campaign, Make New Zealand The Best Place in the World to Have Herpes, I’m not sure words can do it justice.

Like, wow. Like, wow. Yes, the repeat intentional. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in being absolutely blown away. It’s one of those campaigns that any creative, marketer, or human would wish they could lay claim to in a lifetime.

The topic was serious, but like the campaign, Hilary and Mel from Motion Sickness’s storytelling had the room laughing out loud. They took us through their journey - the depth of thinking, the iteration, the crafting across time - the work was nothing short of remarkable.

The thinking started with Motion Sickness’s core creative mantra when connecting with audiences: “Sorry, am I boring you?”

The insight was a tough truth: nobody wants to talk out loud about herpes - not even those on the Herpes team. And the vibe of the nation at the time, New Zealand had lost its national pride, dropping down global rankings - hell we’d not even won the Rugby World Cup. Being a small outpost nation who loves being the best in the world at anything, created the sparkle of a simple yet brilliant idea: Stigma is a global issue, and we could be best at overcoming it!

Hilary, Mel and the team at Motion Sickness challenged a stigma in a way that only a New Zealand campaign could.

The Campaign That Changed the Conversation

The idea was cheeky, and brilliantly executed. From the outset, it was all about confronting uncomfortable truths with good old kiwi humour and irreverence. As Hilary said, “Everything we do is for real people, in their real lives.” With that in mind, the campaign was designed to be relatable, and humour a magic ingredient to breaking down the walls surrounding one of society’s deepest taboos.

The bold, upfront mission was to tackle herpes stigma head-on and turning this campaign into a celebration of the Kiwi spirit. “Make the problem the advantage” was the mantra, and they made sure to amplify it at every turn. The deliberately long URL plastered with HERPES was just the beginning. The message loud and clear: we're not hiding it.

The campaign's cheekiness didn’t stop there. Sir Graham Henry and Buck Shelford - two rugby icons known for their toughness and leadership - took part in the campaign, using deadpan humour, emphasised pauses and gentle intonations to address the nation about herpes. These serious figures, known for their sporting prowess, turned the stigma into something everyone could get behind.

Turning Stigma Into a Competitive Kiwi Sport

To engage the public, the creative team introduced the Herpes Stigma Index - a global competition where Kiwis could compete with their Aussie rivals by completing the world’s first herpes destigmatisation course. Every time someone completed the educational online course, New Zealand’s score shot up, propelling the country to the top of the leaderboard.

In just eight weeks, New Zealand went from a mid-ranking nation in herpes stigma to the number one spot. But the results were more than just numbers. 86% of participants reported feeling more comfortable discussing herpes openly. Supportive attitudes toward people with herpes rose from 44% to 49% nationally, showing that when New Zealand rallies around something, real change happens.

A Grand Prix Victory: Bold Strategy, Bold Humour

With a 0.2% chance of winning at Cannes, the victory was nothing short of extraordinary. The success wasn’t just about recognition - it was about igniting real change. The campaign reached 22 million PR impressions globally, showing the power of a great idea executed with precision and backed by a brave client.

Take a Deep Dive into the Work

This write up really doesn’t do justice to the campaign, its journey or its win. I encourage you to explore the work itself: Motion Sickness - Make New Zealand the Best Place in the World to Have Herpes. In fact, Google it. See that comes up! And the parting gift from Hilary and Mel: “ The next time you're facing a tough challenge, think sideways.” With a little creativity and courage, you just might create something truly remarkable.

Normalising Herpes Takeaways

Creativity has the power to tackle taboo topics. Turning a serious issue like herpes stigma into a global conversation was possible through bold and rich creative thinking.

Competition can drive change. By turning the herpes destigmatisation effort into a competitive challenge, the campaign encouraged public engagement and drove measurable change.

Humour can make tough conversations accessible. Using famous, tough figures like Graham Henry and Buck Shelford to speak about herpes in a funny way made the subject more approachable for a wider audience.

Source: Denelle Joyce, 11 August 2025