Move over Stoner Sloth there is a new ad in town that has taken the title of the worst government ad ever made.
The Federal Department of Finance has spent nearly $40,000 on a campaign that has been slammed as “cringe worthy”, “atrocious” and “truly terrible”.
Campaign Edge ECD Dee Madigan criticised the ad on The Today Show, saying it was the creative agency's responsibility to stop the client from using real people in this spot.
“I know what they were trying to do. The brief was obviously to make it seem like [the finance department] is a really exciting and varied place to work and someone came up with the idea to shoot real people at work,” Madigan says.
“This is the point where the ad agency says let’s not do that because it will be boring as bat shit. But that conversation never happened.”
Gruen panellist Jane Caro was also speaking on Channel Seven's Sunrise this morning on the advert and commented that it was "excruciatingly bad".
The Federal Finance Department's recruitment video has been dubbed as "excruciating," "cliched" and "hilariously bad." #9Today pic.twitter.com/HRwwTcBWYd
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) March 1, 2017
The ad stars a number of real-life department staff who interact awkwardly, while trying to illustrate the exciting nature of life in the public service. It aims to recruit the next generation into its graduate program.
It was created by ad agency Together Creative, who credit themselves as making "famously good graduate marketing".
"I'm so stoked for our presentation to the executives this afternoon," one staffer says at the beginning of the three-minute video.
A young woman, Claire, arrives: "Hey guys, I'm just heading downstairs for my paleo pear and banana bread. Would you like to join me?"
Today Show host Karl Stefanovic defended the ad, asking Madigan if she thought it was a good thing the department was receiving so much attention.
“Not all publicity is good publicity because do you want to work for a department that approve that ad?” Madigan responded.
The government has time and time again released creative that has been ridiculed by Australians, first with Stoner Sloth and late last year with a NSW Government campaign that aimed to promote Sydney's nightlife.
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