Karangahape Road's Newest Ad Campaign Is Celebrating the Famous Street's Worst Reviews

Developed by ad agency Motion Sickness, the campaign has made lemonade out of some really sour lemons — and we're here for it.
Sarah Templeton
June 30, 2022

We're calling it now — Karanghape Road's new advertising campaign deserves all the marketing awards this season.

Developed by ad agency Motion Sickness, the newest iteration of the 'Be Our Guest' campaign from the Karangahape Road Business Association celebrates the worst real reviews received by bars, restaurants and stores along the famous strip. These snippy one-star critiques are accompanied by gorgeous 35mm imagery of some of K' Road's finest, including Pici, Sneaky Snacky, Bar Magda and yes, Family Bar (that last one might just be our favourite).

Of course, Karangahape Road is no stranger to criticism so the marketing team have really made lemonade out of lemons here — and we're all about it.

Sam Stuchbury, Motion Sickness' executive creative director, said in a statement the team found themselves in a "black hole of K' Road reviews" when they began to work on the project.

"These reviews actually said more about the person writing them rather than the business they were reviewing [so] contrasting each negative review with the positive reality of each business experience speaks volumes," he said.

"Karangahape Road has attitude so the result feels right — the perfect proverbial middle finger from the business owners to its snobby reviewers."

Check out the campaign below — and if you're looking for a different review of K' Road, check out our Guest Edit from Jordan 'The Caker' Rondel on her favourite spots around Auckland — four out of five of her picks can be found on the famous strip.

 

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Karangahape Road's 'Be Our Guest' campaign can now be found on billboards and posters citywide. 

Published on June 30, 2022 by Sarah Templeton
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