Built on Conversation: Canterbury’s Longest-Running Radio Campaign

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28/04/2026

It’s hard to believe that what started as a radio ad for Team Hutchinson Ford in 2007 has grown into Canterbury’s longest-running radio campaign.

It Started With a Phone Call

The idea for the campaign’s conversational style came directly from real life.

A phone call was made from Sarah at Mediaworks to CEO John Hutchinson asking, “What’s happening at Hutchies?”

John rattled off what was going on at the time and in that moment, it clicked to him: That’s the radio ad right there. We should have just recorded this.

From there, a format was born that felt natural and authentic – conversations between Sarah and John.

Campaign Highlights Over the Years

Over time, the campaign has evolved into a platform for creativity, humour, and community engagement. Some of the highlights over the years include:

• Best Campaign - Effectiveness at the NZ Radio awards in 2011 - A fantastic recognition of a campaign that has become a defining part of Team Hutchinson Ford’s marketing history.
• Cheese Roll Tuesdays – Delivering Ford-branded cheese rolls in a pie warmer for office morning tea shout-outs.
• Sarah’s “Nag to Win” campaign – A social media hit where someone won the chance to loan a new Mustang - and 5 years later, this person purchased their very own Mustang from us!
• Mustang Sallies – Two Mustangs out on the streets collecting warm blankets for the Salvation Army.

They’re Still Talking

The radio ads with Sarah and John have been a consistent part of Team Hutchinson Ford for almost 20 years – they continue to evolve while still staying true to where it all started.

New ads are recorded every week to reflect what’s happening at the dealership ‘We are never short of material, we often record three of four ads at a time and always have a lot of laughs doing them, we have scripts but don’t always follow them,’ said John Hutchinson

‘We get plenty of people commenting on the ads, normally positive but regardless of their opinion people have heard them, I once had an elderly gentleman walk onto our yard who I went to talk to, he recognised my voice and said he didn’t want to hold me up as I should be off making Sarahs trim mocha frappuccino which was a line Sarah had used months before.’ Said John