Mr Wolfe

Dirty Rascals flaunt Bazooka | by Mr Wolfe

8 December 2009

When four street-smart creatives abandoned the mainstream to set up indie agency Rascals during 2009, some questioned their timing.  As it turns out, their timing was superb.

Flipping the bird to the recession, Rascals set about presenting clients a fresh agency model, promising results in the face of an evolving ad sector and a dynamic business environment.

“Feedback from the market is that we’ve hit the sweet spot”, says well known and by far the best looking rascal, Gilda Kirkpatrick.  “Collectively, we’ve considerable experience, deep skills base and a great deal of value to offer our clients.  Demand is strong, which is fantastic.”

One of the first projects to be produced by the Auckland creative shop was a viral PR campaign for New Zealand independent music label, Dirty Records.

Dirty boss Callum August approached Rascals to set up the launch for artist PNC’s single, ‘Bazooka’, and his new album.

The Aotearoa hip hop star, whose credits include a Vodafone New Zealand Music Award in 2007, and a slew of Pacific Music Award nominations, was signed to the Kingsland-based label by co-founder, DJ and chart-topping producer, P-Money.

Rascals’ scheme was to stage the theft of PNC’s famed Raptor mascot – a bright red dinosaur suit that features in many of the artist’s videos and on album covers - and shoot a music video following the suit’s unsanctioned exploits through New Zealand.

The Dirty PR campaign generated radio and blog buzz, with press release pleas issued for the return of the suit.  The mischievous burglars also staged an auction for Raptor on Trade Me.

Spokes-rascal Colin Mitchell, infamous for his direction credit on the show ‘My Brothers and I are Porn Stars’ (WTF?), said that Trade Me were “pretty good about it, but pulled the auction when they heard because ‘selling stolen goods is illegal’”.

The thrill-seeking Raptor, seen in the music clip touring the country “doing crazy shit”, is eventually returned to PNC’s house, complete with a video journal of its escapades.

Rascal duo, Alex and Leighton Dyer who, Mitchell says “are definitely brothers and not a gay couple, as some people might think”, are no strangers to street-style production techniques, drawing on a long history of film-making and publishing in the skate community.

To help sell the underground feel, ‘Bazooka’ was assembled as a mosaic of footage filmed on a range of disparate appliances including the P2-HD, a headcam, harbour bridge security cameras, mobile phones and three or four random handicams.

Rascals pulled in Digipost who assigned colourist Gerard Ward to the grade.  Ward spent time tweaking the pictures, pumped the colours and giving the piece a gritty cartoon flavour. Compositing, VFX and mastering were also done at Digipost.

Digipost GM Stephen Douglas says it was great to have Rascals in house.  “We always enjoy a creative project and this one was definitely imaginative.  It goes to show that we can take care of business no matter what the brief is”.

“Using a top post house is juxtaposed to the raw underground nature of this work’, adds Mitchell. “It’s a metaphor for Rascals’ fresh thinking – we’re here to challenge the rules and we were thrilled with the result.”

Good times.

For more information on Rascals contact Colin Mitchell, +64 21 421 566, colin@rascals.co.nz