Meet Alan P: L&P and DDB Aotearoa launch ‘Small Town Genius’, an ode to NZ’s most iconic drink

Quintessentially Kiwi – from its sweet, lemon-ey taste to its small-town roots that put Paeroa on the map; L&P is back with a new brand platform: ‘Small Town Genius’ created by Coca-Cola Oceania with the support of DDB to not-so-subtly remind Kiwi to go and buy the nation’s most iconic drink.

For its first ‘Small Town Genius’ campaign, L&P wanted to get into the minds of every Kiwi in the country. How could they do this? The answer lay in people – real New Zealanders whose names share a playful link to the brand.

Dave Wood from Goodoil and Kate McGill from Lighthouse casting scoured the nation to find real Kiwi called Alan P, Ellen P, Allen P, Helen P, Elle P and even Aly P, to become ‘L&P People Ads,’ and the faces of the latest campaign. Their job? Simple. Say their name as much as possible, because every time they do, “you think of L&P, and might buy some L&P.”

Coca-Cola Oceania Senior Brand Manager Janine Penrose said that “everyone knows and loves L&P – we just had to remind them. It’s our national drink – L&P reminds us of home, of summer, of the beach and road trips, and now all our Alans and Ellens are going to help Kiwi revisit those moments of L&P, and all those good things that go with it.

“We know that New Zealander’s have an enormous amount of love for this iconic New Zealand brand, and we felt this was the perfect time to engage a new generation of L&P lovers, so that’s where ‘Small Town Genius’ comes in.”

DDB Aotearoa’s Creative Director Freddie Coltart said the team were tasked with “bringing L&P back to the top of these young consumer’s minds.

“Sometimes, we like to overcomplicate things but in this case, the solution was simple. We thought, let’s just get people say the product name hundreds of times, but not,” he said.

“It’s that kind of small town genius thinking, that unique breed of creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness possessed by the people of small towns, that makes New Zealand so great. And births such genius drinks.”

Says Matt Williams, Creative Director, DDB Aotearoa: “L&P has produced some of New Zealand’s most iconic ad campaigns and having worked with the brand on and off over the last 16 years, I am especially proud to bring this campaign to life and continue the legacy of this great New Zealand brand.”

The crew of Alan Ps will all feature across our creative work launching on AV and social, with the addition of Alan-fluencers, who will be infiltrating niche social media spaces e.g. StickNation, to spread the L&P word across discover pages everywhere.

Alan P is just the beginning of the genius behind ‘Small Town Genius’ – so watch this space for where Alan P and the gang might pop up next.

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