Comedian Dave Hughes has taken on Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) with a spoof ad that challenges the idea that eating meat makes you more Australian.
The ad recreates the infamous MLA ad from The Monkeys, which starred ‘Lambassador’ Sam Kekovich calling on Australians to introduce more lamb into their diet.
Dave Hughes channels Kekovich in his address to the nation, saying: “It’s time to talk turkey with certain citizens of our fair nation that have the chops to think throwing a slab of meat on the barbie makes them more Australian. It doesn’t need to moo to be true blue.
“To be clear, my beef isn’t with people that eat meat. I just want to point out there is nothing un-Australian about trying something different. And I don’t mean drinking turmeric lattes filtered through a hipster’s beard.”
The Kiis radio host continues: "Remember Australia, we aren't a nation of sheep. So there's no need to eat one."
The video is from Alternative Meat Co, a company that provides alternatives to meat.
Dean Epps, general manager at Life Health Foods Australia, the creators of the AMC brand, says the video doesn’t aim to convince people they should be vegetarians.
“As Hughsey correctly references, ‘it doesn’t need to moo to be true blue’. Our country has some of the most diverse foods in the world available so why not throw something vego on the barbie this Australia Day”
The idea, from PR agency Poem, is to question whether eating a lamb chop on Australia Day really makes you more Australian – a message communicated in MLA’s latest summer campaign released today.
Rob Lowe, co-founder of Poem, said: “The goal was to tap into an ongoing and relevant national conversation about changing food trends and meat consumption, giving a voice to the millions of Australians out there who are leading an increasingly more meat free, alternative diet.”
“The challenge we set ourselves was to create a campaign that would raise the debate in an engaging, shareable and significant way, whilst increasing awareness of The Alternative Meat Co’s new innovative plant based product. It’s great example of our approach to humanising PR and social media by injecting culturally relevant concepts that people care about, into brand communications.”
The ad follows the backlash the MLA received last year when it launched an ad that vegans accused of displaying violence towards the vegetable loving group.
In the latest ad released today, the MLA couldn’t resist taking another swipe at vegans. Read more here.
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