Vanilla Ice Comes to the Rescue in Special NZ's New Export Ultra Campaign via RSA Films

Export Ultra has brought back a blast from your past to prevent a blast in your future, partnering with Vanilla Ice to launch the Export Ultra Cold Call Back Service – a new service that stops you accidentally exploding your beers in freezers this summer.

Over the last 12 months, more than half of the country has accidentally frozen a beer(1) meaning millions of beers have met an unnecessary ice demise. If you’ve got that problem, Export Ultra will solve it. 

The Export Ultra Cold Call Back Service is designed to help Kiwis show up before their beers blow up. Opting in is simple and completely free of charge: pop your beer in the freezer, text ‘ICE ICE’ to 423 and 34 minutes later, you'll receive a call from none other than Vanilla Ice himself, reminding you to check yourself before your beers wreck themselves.

The multi-disciplinary campaign launches via a TV spot set at Vanilla Ice’s Miami mansion, as he goes about his day-to-day tasks – such as casually polishing his wall of records or watering his 10-acre garden – while he makes daily calls to New Zealanders. 

Special led strategy, creative ideation and production with support from RSA Films’ directing duo Peter Martin and Heckler Sydney (online/VFX/Colour). Special PR spearheaded earned communications with targeted media relations and influencer activity - ensuring all the VIPs enjoyed the V.I.P. (Vanilla Ice Promotion). 

Dentsu led media planning, buying and implementation across channels including online, OOH, digital audio, radio, television and social; while Raydar was responsible for bringing the campaign through the line with in-store and trade promotions across key retail partners.

Vanilla Ice has a rolling series of summer messages planned - from bespoke rhymes for Valentine’s Day “Roses are red, violets are blue, ya boi Vanilla Ice got a reminder for you” through to a pledge for a chilled Christmas “I do my calls like I do my Christmas presents… they always come (w)rapped.”

Export Ultra’s Fraser Shrimpton says, “New Zealand is the greatest beer garden in the world – and while you’re out enjoying it this summer, you can do so without forgetting those beers in your freezer. We’ve been impressed with Special’s ability to take an impactful PR idea based on a strong consumer insight and bring it right through the line – building brand and demand, over our key trading period.”

Special New Zealand Chief Creative Officer, Jonathan McMahon notes, “We’ve all been there. You put beer in freezer to chill while you chill. But you chill too much, and they chill too much and then… BOOM. And as Vanilla Ice would agree, that ain’t chill. Luckily the rap legend is now here, all summer long, to personally call every New Zealander who needs a reminder to take their Export Ultra out of the freezer.”

“And luckily the Export Ultra team have a great ambition to save beer, a brilliant sense of humour and a strong desire to free up their drinkers so they can enjoy their summers in this wonderful beer garden of ours,” he adds.

“We are excited by the incredibly enjoyable film to promote it, brought to life by the amazing Peter Martin at RSA, and the endless calls from Vanilla Ice that are spoken, sung and rapped - he even threw in a bit of poetry because he’s sweet like that.”

Kelly Grindle, Managing Director at Special PR, added, “You can’t PR an advertising idea, but you can advertise a PR idea, and this is a true example of integrated marketing that shows Special at its best.  We couldn’t ask for better partners than DB Breweries, who managed to turn around this entire campaign from concept to delivery in less than ten weeks.”

RSA’s Peter Martin adds: “There was never any doubt for us that Special had a special idea. The only question was how game Rob would be to have fun with the Vanilla Ice image. Thankfully he was a great sport, allowing us to shoot in his actual home to make this better than we could’ve imagined.”

Vanilla Ice’s Export Ultra Cold Call Back Service will be saving Kiwis’ beers from December 2024 through to February 2025, because a frosty beer is cool, but a frozen beer? Ice-cold heartbreak.

1: Independent research commissioned by DB Breweries during October 2024, collating answers from a sample size of 250 individual New Zealand-based respondents.

CREDITS:

Client: DB Breweries 
Fraser Shrimpton, Marketing Director DB Breweries 
Kate Baars, Senior Marketing Manager DB Breweries 
Lauren Parker Condon, Brand Manager, DB Breweries 
Jordan Grace, Assistant Brand & Shopper Manager 
Annabel Buckley, Trade Marketing Manager 

SPECIAL NEW ZEALAND 
Tony Bradbourne, Founder, Creative Chairman, CEO NZ  
Lisa Fedyszyn, Chief Creative Officer 
Jonathan McMahon, Chief Creative Officer 
Simon Watts, Creative  
Rhiana Merota, Art Director 
Liz Garneau, Executive Producer 
Therese Bielawa, Head of Production 
Matt Abraham, Senior Digital Producer
Hamish Kuka, Social Editor
Courtney Spillane, Senior Business Manager 
Rory Gallery, Partner, Chief Strategy Officer 
Josh Taylor-Dadds, Group Strategy Director 
Ursula Nichols , Group Strategy & CX Director 
Nina Richardson, Strategist 

SPECIAL PR 
Kelly Grindle, Managing Director  
Natasha D’Souza, Group PR Director 
Jessica Walker, Senior PR Manager  

DENTSU AOTEAROA 
Tasmin Bradley, Senior Business Director 
Grace McCarthy, Associate Digital Director 
Lucciane Surtees, Business Director 
Melis Shosanya, Business Manager 
Ellie Ritchie, Senior Account Manager (Social) 

RAYDAR 
Simeon Trew, Account Director 

VANILLA ICE aka Robert Van Winkle represented by TQ Management Agency 
TQ Management Agency: Chuck Quon 
TQ Management Agency: Tommy Quon 
Foss Films for Vanilla Ice: Jon Foss 

PRODUCTION COMPANY: RSA FILMS
Peter Martin, Director
Luke Ricci, President/EP
Jenni Sprunger , EP 
Sarah Morrison, Head of Production 
Liz Gonzalez, Producer 
Beth Henning, Producer 
Rafael Herrera, 1st AD
Sean Porter, DOP
Walter Rodriguez, 1st AC  
Danny Garcia, DIT
Ana Huber, Prop Master
Eric Moorman, Sound Mixer 
Naty Parodi, Key Costume
Juliana Moss, Key Make Up
Caleb Santos, PA
Ro Espinoza, PA:

Kevin Zimmerman, Editor
David Rothbaum, Composer

ONLINE/VFX/COLOUR: HECKLER SYDNEY
Amy Jarman, Heckler Executive Producer
Jamie Watson, Heckler Executive Creative Director
Julian Ford, Flame
Ferg Rotherham, Colourist

RECORDING POWER STATION RECORDING STUDIOS, FLORIDA
Rob Roy, Producer, Mix Engineer, Director 
Brennan Fulton, Senior Engineer 
Steven Ludwig, Assistant Engineer 

SOUND: LIQUID STUDIOS 
Andy Morton, Engineer 
Tamara O’Neil, Producer