Fans of classic children’s novels such as the Famous Five or Trixie Beldon will enjoy this entertaining holiday adventure. Mosquito Advertising: The Parfizz Pitch (UQP, 2010), the first in a series of novels by Australian author Kate Hunter, is an enjoyable book for confident readers aged 9+ looking for a story with elements of humour, mystery, drama, friendship and fun.
Mosquito Advertising: The Parfizz Pitch
Fourteen-year-old Katie Crisp has finished with school for the year and is looking forward to relaxing at her family home in Brisbane, Australia. Her plans for a fun summer hanging out with her friend Lorraine take an unexpected turn when she finds out that not only is her mother’s job under threat, but it is likely that they will also have to sell their house.
Katie loves their rambling, rundown home built by her grandfather many years before. She doesn’t want to move to a modern home closer to the city, but it looks like she won’t get any say in it as Parfitt’s, the family-owned soft drink company her mother works for, is being sold to a large US company.
Desperate to save her mother’s job and her home, Katie decides to start an advertising campaign to promote Parfizz, Parfitt’s best known product. With the help of her friends Lorraine, Joel, Clementine and Dominic, Katie discovers that there is more to the situation at Parfitt’s than any of the adults realise.
In the summer heat, Katie and her friends form Mosquito Advertising and, with occasional help from Katie’s quirky Aunt Nancy, launch a full scale campaign to save Parfitt’s.
Fun, Adventure and Insight into the World of Advertising
Mosquito Advertising: The Parfizz Pitch has the feel of the old school holiday adventure stories. As the adults muddle through and take everything at face value, the young teens investigate and take a close look at some suspicious characters and events.
Hunter’s experience in the advertising industry enables her to explore the influence and impact of advertising strategies throughout The Parfizz Pitch. Katie and her friends discuss why Parfitt’s old-style advertising is unsuccessful, develop their own Christmas marketing campaign for Parfizz and go up against a professional advertising company to formally pitch an ad.
Through the dialogue between the Mosquito Advertising team and the advertising agency staff as well as some helpful advice from Katie’s Aunt Nancy, readers are offered some interesting insights into how and why marketing campaigns work and what goes into to developing a successful campaign, both creatively and financially.
As the teens form Mosquito Advertising form a plan to save Parfitt’s, they also discover more about each other and their friendship. There is a lot of humour in their interactions, especially between Katie and Lorraine and in Katie’s descriptions of her mother’s cooking and Lorraine’s family life. Despite the fact that Katie and her friends are in high school, there are no teen issues explored in the plot with the focus on the crisis at Parfitt’s and secondary issues related to more general friendship and family relationships.
Australian Author Kate Hunter
Born in Melbourne, Kate Hunter’s career in advertising led her to travel to the UK and New Zealand before finally settling in Brisbane, Australia. She now primarily focuses on her family and writing, although she still contributes copy for the occasional ad and is a regular panellist on Steve Austin’s ‘Hidden Persuaders’ advertising discussion segment on ABC local radio.
Information about Hunter’s experience in the advertising industry and writing pursuits can be found at her website. Details about the Mosquito Advertising series, including examples of advertisements produced by the group and information about future releases, can be found at the Mosquito Advertising website.
Mosquito Advertising: The Parfizz Pitch is Kate Hunter’s first novel.
Fun School Vacation Adventure
With a mystery to solve, a business to promote and Katie’s family home to save, the Mosquito Advertising team are busy over the summer school vacation. Readers will love the David and Goliath feel as Mosquito Advertising pitch their ad campaign against the professionals, enjoying some quirky characters and adventurous situations along the way.
The Parfizz Pitch is suitable for primary school-aged readers and young teens. The second book in the series, Mosquito Advertising: The Blade Brief is due for release in Australia in December 2010.
Review copy details:
Mosquito Advertising: The Parfizz Pitch (ISBN: 978-0-7922-3771-3, 210 pages)
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