Free The Crunch Campaign by Kate Hunter

– that’s all. They’re young and smart and they work cheap!’
    â€˜Sounds good to me.’
    Tania reached for the telephone on the table and pressed a button. ‘Annalise? Is our food on its way?’
    â€˜Yes, Ms Mentelle. It will be here in twenty minutes.’
    â€˜Excellent. In the meantime, could you call the creative department and have Kip and Toby sent to the boardroom?’
    Watching the ad, Caesar Maxwell laughed so hard his red wine nearly came out his nose.
    â€˜Are you right?’ Tania bit her lip. ‘Careful, Uncle C.’ She smiled. ‘That cost $400 a bottle.’
    â€˜Absolutely!’ he said, catching his breath. ‘I love the concept just as much as Whiting will hate it. Well done, boys! Good job.’
    Kip and Toby weren’t particularly proud of the ad they’d made, but felt relieved at Caesar Maxwell’s words. They had been out of work for months after they were fired from Pettigrew Lewis TBLC, and Tania Mentelle had thrown them a lifeline.
    â€˜The pay will be terrible and the conditions awful until you prove that you’re worth more,’ she’d said. ‘I have no time for pretty-boy posers and no jobs for them, either. So you come here and do exactly as I say, or you go to a different kind of agency.’
    They’d been to every other agency in Sydney and no one would hire them. The disasterous ad they made for Parfizz had ended up on YouTube but Tania Mentelle didn’t care. She never entered award competitions or looked online and had a reputation for down-and-dirty advertising that worked. No one could deny that she had a knack for winning business and making money. A job at Viper was their only option.
    But at least the campaign to fight the ad ban was high-profile. Kip and Toby had thrown themselves into coming up with an idea no one could ignore.
    â€˜Run me through it again.’ Caesar Maxwell leaned back in his chair.
    â€˜Sure.’ Toby ran a hand through his hair that still felt uncomfortably short. Tania had made him cut it. She said her clients were neat-hair people, so hers was a neat-hair agency. ‘We have a whole heap of beach balls printed with kids’ faces on them,’ he said, ‘so the kids look bloated. We see them rolling around on a shiny floor. Then we see a woman’s legs – from the knees down, wearing cheap high heels. In slow motion we see she’s preparing to kick one of the balls. The voice over says, “ No one likes fat kids. Kicking the problem around won’t solve it. That’s exactly what Prime Minister Clara Whiting is doing. Just like her government, the ad ban won’t work. Say no to the ad ban and yes to freedom of choice .” Then the woman, who we assume is the prime minister, kicks the ball. The kid’s face winces . . . we can do that with animation.’
    Toby sighed with relief at the look of satisfaction on Tania’s face.
    â€˜I love it,’ Maxwell said. ‘Absolutely love it.’
    â€˜I knew you would,’ said Tania. ‘How are you going with raising the money to run it?’ She dismissed Toby and Kip with a nod. ‘The ad itself is cheap to make, but you’ll need big money for media. You want to play it on all commercial channels, all the time.’
    â€˜Going okay.’ Maxwell shrugged. ‘All the burger chains have paid up. The chicken people have been generous and there was no argument from the pizza companies. The soft drink guys couldn’t transfer their funds fast enough. Not surprising, as they’ll be the first hit. There’s only been one that’s less than enthusiastic. But I’m not worried.’
    â€˜Who’s that?’
    â€˜Parfitt’s from Brisbane – pathetic little outfit. Probably doomed, anyway.’
    â€˜If Parfitt’s isn’t with us, we have to assume they’re against us.’ Tania placed her fingertips on the edge of the