Novel campaign to launch Canvas

An advertising campaign for the Weekend Herald's new magazine has employed artists as "live billboards", in a strategy believed to be a New Zealand first.

Advertising agency M&C Saatchi created the campaign for the magazine, which is called Canvas, after finding inspiration from pavement chalk drawings.

"People always stop and look at chalk drawings, and we were playing on the name Canvas," says creative director Jason Ross.

Artists Emma Bossley and Paul Radford will be the "live artists", painting on the billboard sites at Great North Rd and in Parnell during morning and evening shifts.

Adshels are also being used as canvases by Whitecliff Art School students. Security guards will protect the artworks overnight.

Other works have been commissioned, including one by well-known artist Dick Frizzell, and will be unveiled on the billboards over three days.

All of the works show a central character in a relaxed weekend situation, reading Canvas, with the strapline: "Canvas, the art of weekend reading".

In Frizzell's painting, a woman is distracted from the drudgery of doing the dishes and captivated by the magazine, which is set out on the rack in front of her.

Account director Melanie Hargrave says the title has been brought to life by the use of commissioned artwork.

"The campaign is a great example of doing something totally different in order to get consumers involved and excited," she says.

Ross adds: "People have used live bugs in adshels before, but to the best of our knowledge billboards haven't been used as easels before."

The month-long campaign, costing overall about $1 million, includes radio, television, direct marketing and online advertising.