Action Oamaru hits nation's TV screens

More than 30 Oamaru residents are getting national television exposure as the Victorian Precinct becomes the backdrop for yet another commercial.

The town features in Westpac's latest television advertisement, titled Start Asking.

Westpac New Zealand senior brand manager Michael Healy said the idea for the ad came after asking 750 New Zealanders questions about money.

The survey found Kiwis were quite reluctant to talk about the important money issues, such as budgeting, saving, debt and retirement savings.

On the surface, it looked like New Zealanders talked about money as often as they talked about sport, movies, music, shopping and holidays, Mr Healy said.

But in detail, it appears Kiwis stick to some pretty safe money topics, such as how much is spent on groceries and fuel.

The tough and arguably more important conversations around big financial issues got even less "air time" than sex, religion and politics.

"We can ask how we got here at the start of it all. And where we go at the very end. But for some reason we can't seem to ask about how our money can make for a smooth journey in between," he said.

One of the big questions in life featured in Westpac's advertisement was "How far are we willing to go to make a change?"

Enter Kate Sheppard - the leading light of the women's suffrage movement. Westpac decided to recreate a period scene and Oamaru provided the perfect backdrop.

A film crew spent a day in the town capturing a scene, which features more than 30 Oamaru residents in period dress.

"We used crank handle cameras to make sure it was authentic," he said. Oamaru features for about nine seconds in the 1min 31sec advertisement, which is appearing on television screens now.