One thing was going to be free this Christmas: the sun. In New Zealand Christmas is celebrated in the middle of summer and sunburn is an ever-present risk. It is also a fantastic free marketing opportunity with a little imagination. We sent all our clients a "Sunburn Marketing Kit” complete with a stencil of their logo, which they could use to brand any unsuspecting “skinboard” found at the beaches this summer. In these hard economic times, every resource had to be exploited, including other people’s stupidity.

It was a tough recession year. Budgets were tight all over. It had been a hard slog all year. Our clients were over it. Then here comes the annual Christmas card mailing brief. We needed a cheap laugh and remind our clients that we were always thinking about ways to promote their business.

As with any Christmas card mailing, the best way to measure how successful it was is by asking our clients directly. Without fail, they all enjoyed the joke as it was intended and were reminded that our agency can deliver great ideas no matter how small the budget. Oh, and they’re all still with us.

In a tongue in cheek way we demonstrated that we were always thinking about our client’s business, even when we were on holiday.