Rink romance: Meet-cute story sells personalised car plates

Donna Lewis's 1996 hit 'I Love You Always Forever' serves as the soundtrack for a romantic crush-crash that changes the lives of two teens on skates, in a new spot for KiwiPlates by Saatchi & Saatchi.

KiwiPlates is the vendor of personalised license plates in New Zealand. While people often use such plates as a medium for shallow, attention-getting ploys, they can also carry a lot of meaning. And that's what the spot, directed by Zoe McIntosh of Sweetshop, sets out to convey. 

Ad Nut trusts you'll agree that the commercial succeeds, and that you'll enjoy it if you were a kid of the '90s. Or the '80s. Or heck, if you were ever a teenager.

Ad Nut especially commends the casting choices. Ad Nut does wonder, however, why the couple took 25 years to get from the obvious chemistry of that first skate to the baby-making, car-buying stage.

If Ad Nut had a car, what plate would Ad Nut get? 'ADNUT' is too obvious, and it's depressing to define yourself by your job anyway—even when you love your job a lot! Ad Nut's first choice would be 'ILUVNUTS', but that might get rejected by dirty-minded authorities. Ad Nut's trying to decide between 'GR8SQRL', 'SQRLMVP, '#1SQRL', or '#NUTLYFE', and is leaning toward the latter. Ad Nut is open to your suggestions.

CREDITS

Company: KiwiPlates
Managing Director: Mark Wilson
Marketing Manager: Karl Plank
Marketing Coordinator: Christie McPherson

Creative agency: Saatchi & Saatchi NZ
Chief Executive Officer: Mark Cochrane
Chief Creative Officer: Steve Cochran
Executive Agency Producer: Jane Mill
Copywriter: Rebecca Sharp
Art Director: Matthew Aitken
Chief Strategy Officer: David McIndoe
Group Business Director: Nick Bulmer
Business Director: Kate Gyde
Business Executive: Zoe Lloydd

Production company: Sweetshop
Director: Zoe McIntosh
Executive Producer: Ben Dailey
Executive Producer: Kate Roydhouse
Producer: Anna Stuart
DOP: Marty Williams
Editor: Julian Currin
Grade: Dave Gibson
Online: Stu Bedford
Music: "I Love You Always Forever” written and recorded by Donna Lewis
Music search and licensing: Jonathan Mihaljevich, Franklin Rd
Audio post mix: Stefaan Van Leuven, Franklin Rd

Media Agency: Zenith
Group Business Director: Susan Benseman
Digital Business Manager: Tonga Snook
Business Manager: Kim Gribble

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.