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How ad great Richie McCaw shilled his way to becoming New Zealander of Year

By Calum Henderson
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The All Blacks great is more than just a Versatile home owner – he’s also a surprisingly versatile actor.

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Richie McCaw was named New Zealander of the Year last night. Some people are angry. They say setting about every All Blacks record, winning two World Cups, and retiring the greatest rugby player of all time isn’t enough to earn you a bank-sponsored award at a Wednesday night Langham booze-up. But with all respect to the guy who founded The Warehouse, McCaw absolutely deserves his place among the past winners of this prestigious award. People forget he is more than a great rugby player-turned-helicopter pilot: McCaw is also one of the finest actors of his generation; a cultural icon who has helped shape the identity of our small island nation in some the most epic ads made south of Hollywood.

Look at our great captain’s oeuvre. His latest campaign for Westpac is one of his most ambitious projects yet: an arthouse meditation about the value of getting on with it. The 60-second ad includes several key themes which run through his body of advertising work – hard yakka, the great outdoors, and going for a run, among others.

Despite his signature themes, McCaw is far from a one-note wonder. In fact, from his brooding Beats by Dre performance to his friendly and informative work as an ambassador for kitset building company Versatile – not to mention his comic turns for Mastercard – he has exhibited a remarkable range for an actor with no formal training.

Here are the 148-test All Black’s television ad appearances ranked from least to most important.

8. Sealegs

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This 2011 Sealegs commercial featured push-ups – a McCaw ad staple, and bonus points for them being on the beach – and put him at the wheel of a fancy boat, but lack of any speaking part prevented him from demonstrating his true range. A minor work.

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7. adidas

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The All Blacks’ loyal kit manufacturers gave McCaw his first known taste of the advertising limelight back in 2007, when he and some other All Blacks drew stickmen doing the haka on a pane of glass for the Impossible is Nothing campaign. From the same era, the Of This Earth campaign was the first to include a now-trademark jogging scene. Contrast these stoic, expressionless performances with 2015’s Force of Black campaign to see just how far he progressed. Despite his remarkable improvement in acting range, McCaw remained somewhat typecast in adidas ads. As a result they rank among his lesser works.

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6. Weetbix

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Weetbix were perhaps the first advertisers to tell the All Blacks hero: “be yourself”. Easier said than done, but McCaw rose to the task for this 2011 ad with Sonny Bill Williams. Although he doesn’t have a speaking part, McCaw’s presence and easy charisma speaks for itself.

5. Westpac

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The first ad of McCaw’s post-All Blacks career may be his most artful and profound work, using extreme exercise as a kind of metaphor for saddling yourself with backbreaking debt. But beneath the flashy surface it mostly just retreads the themes of his earlier work. Hard slog, jogging, sweat… We’ve seen these all before.

4. Air New Zealand

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While not an ad in the strictest sense of the word, Air New Zealand’s 2011 All Blacks safety video was a landmark moment, McCaw’s first real opportunity to branch out into a more lighthearted role. He delivers a highly competent piece-to-camera from the cockpit, but the highlight is the subtle glance he shoots the flight attendant at 0:59 – that’s pure acting.

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In 2015 the All Blacks again appeared in an Air New Zealand safety video, but McCaw – by then a recognised talent with nothing left to prove – made only a brief cameo appearance.

3. Mastercard

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Like De Niro in Meet the Fockers, McCaw’s appearances in the All Blacks’ popular Mastercard ads revealed an unexpectedly strong comedic side to an actor better known for his serious work. In early ads he played a bemused foil to the All Blacks’ number one fan Tim, but as the series developed the pair established a firm friendship. In what may turn out to be their final Mastercard ad the pair share some heartwarming moments together – perhaps none more so than the classic haircut scene.

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2. Beats by Dre

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Richie McCaw’s advertising career masterpiece. The 2015 Beats by Dre ad is the single best showcase of his talent spectrum, tying together strands from across his oeuvre – enjoying a cup of coffee, slow-motion jogging in beautiful rugged scenery, putting in hard yards on the training paddock – into a visually arresting 3-and-a-half minute feature. That he does all this while wearing different models of Beats by Dre headphones just goes to show the full extent of his ability.

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1. Versatile

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“That’s Versatile” goes the jingle at the end of every ad, and it could just as well be about McCaw’s acting as the kitset homes and garages he’s promoting. He started as a Versatile ambassador back in 2010 when he held the title ‘New home builder’, before graduating to ‘New Versatile home owner’ and finally just ‘Versatile home owner’. These ads are the perhaps the closest we’ll ever get to ‘the real Richie McCaw’, showcasing his signature off-field moves like sipping a cup of coffee and standing with his hands in his jean pockets. Their importance cannot be overstated.

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j
john 10 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 2 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

13 Go to comments
T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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