Paul Henry's sustained a successful media career with his acerbic
wit and now his special blend of meanness will be utilised in a New
Zealand media campaign for a chocolate brand.
Henry will front the new campaign for Snickers You're Not You When
you're Hungry a global campaign which uses celebrities known for a
particular hunger trait, as a metaphor.
The popular television star will portray the hunger state
'meanness' and joins an impressive list of international A-listers
including; Betty White, Joe Pesci, Aretha Franklin, Liza Minnelli
and Joan Collins who have featured in commercials in more than 56
markets.
Henry says he's thrilled to be involved in the campaign which
celebrates what he believes is one of his most endearing traits.
"I am excited to be involved in something which essentially just
allows me to be myself. I'm glad to be able to show that meanness
can be fun and celebratory, and despite the old adage that it's
difficult to do, meanness really does come easy.
"It has never bothered me that people think I'm mean, I've always
been able to laugh at it. In many ways this campaign is a very good
representation of how I see myself," says Henry.
"I think it's great to see a company recognising human
characteristics and putting them under the spotlight for us to have
a bit of fun with," he says.
The new TVC which launches on August 25th during ad breaks for the
Bledisloe Cup is a piece of entertainment in itself says Henry.
"It's lovely to be involved in a bit of theatre where people aren't
taking themselves too seriously. I have enjoyed featuring in a
campaign that started starring Betty White. It's something of an
honour."
Snickers marketing manager Andrea Aguilar says the campaign was
developed behind the universal insight that hunger makes a person
weak and behave differently ultimately affecting the people around
us and the way we perform.
The campaign she says, adopts a typically light-hearted tone of
voice to appeal to the core brand consumers and that Paul Henry was
a natural choice to bring the campaign to life.
"What the commercial is trying to convey is that hunger can
drastically change your personality. It's saying that when you're
hungry you're not on your game and that Snickers is the bar of
substance that sorts you out," says Aguilar.
Snickers is one of the world's biggest selling chocolate bars and
one of the top selling bars in New Zealand.
The 2012 integrated global campaign will incorporate TV
advertising, PR and digital activity.
