Korean agency Cheil apologises for losing control of two water buffaloes in Sydney
Cheil, the lead global advertising agency for Korean electronics giants Samsung, has apologised for losing control of two water buffaloes that were involved in a TV commercial shoot in Sydney’s inner west.
The large horned herbivores evaded their handlers in Newtown yesterday morning, and were seen running down the main strip of Newtown, King Street.
One of the buffaloes broke free, then another did the same shortly after. They were both captured and tied up only to break free again and run down King Street, towards Camperdown and the University of Sydney. No one was hurt.
In a statement shared with Mumbrella, the Korean agency said: “Cheil Worldwide sincerely apologises for any inconvenience this incident may have caused Sydneysiders.
“We understand that the contracted production company, responsible for the shoot, worked with local authorities to quickly contain the incident. We can also confirm that the water buffaloes are safe and no one was injured.
“We are grateful for the help of the local authorities and the community who assisted to safely contain the situation. We will do our utmost to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.”
The agency would not reveal the identity of the production company involved.
The incident of the animals running down the street was filmed by Instagramer sopha_chest.
Leo Burnett Sydney, which handles much of Samsung’s local brand advertising in Australia, was not involved in the shoot.
Robin Hicks
“Apologizes” translated: Samsung acknowledges and actually thanks the wave of social media picking up this story as this “mistake” has generated much more exposure than the actual production this ad was going to.
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Who was the production house.
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I was in Newtown yesterday when it happened. It was humorous but very well handled in the end. However, given the huge amount of publicity, Cheil Worldwide have missed an opportunity to mention their client as part of their statement. It seems they needed to include a local Crocodile Dundee water buffalo whisperer as part of the crew.
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