The annual release of the Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) summer ad for lamb takes aim, with humour, at the fallout from the pandemic and state border closures.
The commercial was filmed, with COVID-19 safe protocols, over three days at the end of November in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
Making the commercial had other challenges from COVID-19. A regular, Lambassador Sam Kekovich, couldn't get to the shoot because he was in Melbourne. Sam had to do his stuff from a studio in Melbourne.
And the latest in a long line, which started in 2004 with MLA’s We Love Our Lamb Campaign, is a great success with more than 1 million views on YouTube since January 10 and another 1 million across social media.
And they know all about Australian lamb in America. The New York Times, describing the commercial as "punching a nerve", used the ad to illustrate the warring between the state premiers -- the science and politics of border controls -- and how Australians are sick of it. And this from a country with fewer than 30,000 cases of COVID-19.
Graeme Yardy, MLA’s domestic market manager, says the commercial is about bringing people together but in a very Australian lamb way.
"Overwhelmingly, the great thing about Australia is that we can laugh at ourselves and look back and appreciate we’re handling this as best we possibly can," he says.
“I think most Australians think the tone we landed was right – we’re one country and dividing us into states doesn’t really make a lot of sense.
"We’re dealing with this thing pretty well compared to a lot of other countries and I think Australians were probably ready for a bit of a laugh.”
The ad, created by The Monkeys part of Accenture Interactive, triggers images of backyard BBQs and the smell of a lamb chop being burnt, says Georgia Phillips, CEO of Luma Research.
And the narrative draws inspiration from hard state borders and also takes a swipe at Trump’s “Wall” with Mexico which he didn’t in the end build.
“This is also the sort of ad which keeps on giving,” says Phillips. “You can enjoy watching it multiple times, even though it is so long.”
Michael Klaehn, educator - communications at QUT College, says this year’s lamb ad is packed full of in-jokes about the sibling rivalry the states have with each other.
“I’m not sure why Queensland is the only one with lamb cutlets,” he told AdNews. “Picking on Tasmania which is ever constant. WA trying to secede, it’s all there, although don’t remember seeing NT or ACT at all?
“It’s busy, entertaining and on the money.”
Amanda Spry, Lecturer of Marketing at RMIT, says the commercial uses a classic advertising approach of showing not what the product is but what it can represent in terms of an experience.
“Here, lamb symbolises bringing people living in Australia together and marking the occasion of reconnecting,” she told AdNews.
“This ad resonates themes that we've seen from comedians and influencers on social media regarding the Prime Minister's holiday in Hawaii and state rivalries.
On engaging with current issues, Spry says it's important that brands don’t trivialise issues and present them as easily solvable.
“This is the reason why Pepsi received such backlash on their Kendall Jenner ad - where Pepsi was offered up as a solution to a complex issue (police brutality).”
She says brands need to engage meaningfully with current issues but they need to toe the line so they're not tone deaf when speaking on these issues that have been traumatic in terms of people's livelihoods, physical and mental health ... and are still ongoing here and across the world.
“The question is how can brands contribute to a conversation or even provide entertainment and levity (as they've done here through humour) while staying sensitive to the situation,” she says.
Georgia Phillips at Luma Research, which has been testing the MLA commercial, says the ads have become natural cue for Australia Day celebrations.
“There are a few versions of the ad – including an epic 2:30 min edit which is hilarious and fully sets up the story,” says Georgia Phillips.
“But the version which is being aired on TV is just the 30s edit which moves quite quickly. We were interested to see what people thought.”
The feedback is that “Make Lamb, not Walls” is highly engaging.
“People feel the ad is exciting to watch and it will get noticed – already 59% claim to have seen it – shows that it is striking and memorable,” she says.
“It works so well as it doesn’t rely on just one creative hook but four. It is the combination of the highly relatable story, the use of music, great casting and, of course, the humour.
“The humour especially resonates. We have seen that there are two types of humour in ads – one is surprise/slapstick humour and the other is based on human truth. This ad has a bit of both. We laugh at the silliness but also because it reflects how we are feeling after a year of lockdowns and hard state borders.
“Each time I watch it I notice something new which makes me laugh – check out the posters at the newsagent at the start – one says delays to the roll out of the NBN. And the stab at ScoMo making his way of the plane from Hawaii is a favourite.
“But interestingly, for the 30s ad there is a challenge with comprehension as the edit isn’t able to catch the narrative as well. This limits the appeal of the humour and overall execution a little.
“People get the message that you should share the Lamb and east Australian Lamb on Australia Day, but they are missing the narrative of the storyline. Perhaps the team have tried to condense the story too much and missed some of the key elements of the set-up and the humour."
The ad leaves people still feeling positive about buying and eating Australian Lamb. Emotionally people can relate to the ideas and scenario.
“A clever story well told,” says Georgia Phillips.
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