The 2023 Australian lamb commercial, created by The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, for Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), uses a heavy dose of satire to rethink what it means to be Australian.
The commercial last year went dystopian to highlight the absurdities of the pandemic, the walls created between states via differing COVID rules.
This time the annual summer campaign imagines an alternative reality where people are called out for being “un-Australian” before being banished to “Un-Australia” – an infinite cultural exile.
Instant exile for: boasting, dobbing, using a cheat stick during a pool match, saying beetroot doesn't belong in a burger, having subtitles during a televised cricket match, and even saying "this whole bloody pub is unAustralian".
The full-length ad, directed by Yianni Warnock from MOFA, premiered during the tea break on Day Two of the Australia versus South Africa Cricket Test through a Channel Seven partnership, followed by free-to-air and subscription TV nationally.
In a lifeless desert, we meet Australians who’ve committed serious offences, such as switching off the test cricket, eating a meat pie with a knife and fork and (the horror) not knowing the second verse to Cold Chisel’s 1978 Khe Sanh.
Footballer and sports commentator Sam Kekovich, the Lambassador, makes it clear this “Un-Australian” accusing has gone too far.
He gets exiled, with a BBQ of sizzling lamb, for saying: "Bon Appétit."
Watch HERE
Scott Dettrick, creative director at The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song: "We're in an uncertain time where people are struggling to define what it means to be Australian but, ironically, some find it very easy to define what is Un-Australian.
“Our campaign explores how we can rethink what it really means to be a modern Australian and, with the help of a Lamb BBQ, come back together as a nation."
Graeme Yardy, domestic market manager at MLA says: “The use of “Un-Australian” has got out of control, everything from putting onions on your sausage sizzle to having a wedding on Grand Final day is on the chopping block.
“Chances are you’ll be viewed as ‘Un-Australian’ by someone! What makes Australia great is that we celebrate our differences.
“Lamb is famous for bringing Aussies together, so what better way to cut through this division and help us come together over these collective differences than with a good lamb BBQ.”
He commercial is being pushed out across digital, social media and retail OOH channels by UM, with One Green Bean driving reach for the campaign across earned media and owned social. This will also be supported through key retail and Foodservice partners.
Credits
Client – Meat & Livestock Australia
General Manager – Marketing and Insights: Nathan Low
Domestic Market Manager: Graeme Yardy
Brand Manager: Derek Lau
Creative Agency – The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song
Group CEO and Co-Founder: Mark Green
Managing Director: Matt Michael
Group Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder: Scott Nowell
Chief Creative Officer: Tara Ford
Creative Director: Scott Dettrick
Head of Innovation: Beth O’Brien
Creative team: Emmalie Narathipakorn and Seamus McAlary
Head of Production: Penny Brown
Post Producer: Elliot Liebermann
Production Coordinator: Emily Coleman
Business Strategy Director: Kit Lansdell
Head of Business Management: Topher Jones
Group Business Director: Andy Holmes
Senior Business Manager: Mitchell Bevan
Production Company: MOFA
Director: Yianni Warnock
Executive Producer: Claire Thompson
DOP: Lachlan Milne
Production Design: Sam Lukins
Casting: Citizen Jane
Edit House: Arc Edit
Editor: Phoebe Taylor
Post Executive Producer: Daniel Fry
VFX: Arc - Patrick Campbell, Ian Lewis, Richard Lambert, Chris Betteridge
Colourist: Trish Cahill
Music & Sound: MassiveMusic
Composer: Haydn Walker
Sound Designer: Simon Kane
Producer: Katrina Aquilia
Media Agency – UM
Matt Furlong – Head of Strategy, Sydney
Peter Stewart – Group Director
Laura Ellis – Senior Client Director
Amy Cummings - Senior Creative Connections Director
Callum Wells – Planning Director
Tom Carlon – Trading Director
Michelle Andrews – Senior Planning Manager
Cayley McArthur - Strategist
PR Agency – One Green Bean
Executive Director – Lauren Bailey
Head of Content – Laura Byrne
Business Director – Kirsty McGorty
Account Director – Molly Dodwell
Senior Project Manager – Amy McCann
Senior Account Manager – Natasha Esson
Project Manager – Ruby McCann
Project Executive – Indiah Clarke
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