Campaign Review: ‘It’s let down by a bit of confusing storytelling’ – Better Cider, MLA, The Kids’ Cancer Project

In Campaign Review, Mumbrella invites industry creatives and strategists to offer their views on recent ad campaigns.

Brand: Better Cider

Campaign: ‘Say Goodbye to Furry Teeth’

Agency: In-house

The verdict: It’s fun, but it’s confusing. 

Psembi Kinstan, ECD at DDB, gave it a 4/10, and said:

I buy the insight about furry teeth, that feels original and true.

That feels like it could be a belter idea, but it’s let down by a bit of confusing storytelling (the cabbie’s been drinking cider?) and lack of a nice, simple line to close it all up and make sense of it at the end.

Great thinking though, just confusingly told, so the point may be lost on most viewers.

Jake Mesidis, strategist at Innocean, gave it a 4/10, and said: 

Insights are a tricky thing. You want them to be novel – surprisingly unsurprising, in a ‘damn, that’s so true’ kind of way. It’s the secret sauce that helps a campaign cut through and embed itself in memory.

On the flip side, you don’t want an insight that’s so niche you wind up building memories that aren’t super relevant when people go to buy. Unfortunately, I think this campaign falls in the latter camp.

I respect the campaign’s ambition in taking a swing at the novel, and I really do think they nail making furry teeth seem like the most repulsive thing ever. However, I can’t help but compare it to Canadian Club’s ‘Over Beer?’ platform. It had a novel insight, oriented around a thought most people have encountered when racking the shelves of a BWS. Is disdain for furry teeth a similarly widespread point of entry for cider? I’m not too sure.

Justin Ruben, founder and CCO at Oblong Creative, gave it a 6/10, and said:

I was a little confused by this spot. I had no idea why they had this green fur coming out of their mouths so I was definitely intrigued and wondering what the punch line was going to be.

I must confess, I’m not a cider drinker so the insight that you get furry teeth from drinking sugary ciders was totally lost on me. I did use google to help guide me and see if it is common, but couldn’t find enough information to justify it. Maybe I need to speak to my dentist.

If it was very common I get why they would use this as a starting point for the ad, I’m still not sure executionally if the green fur was the best way to bring it to life. I do think the spot is having some fun, which is important and not taking themselves too seriously, so some bonus points for that. Not as fizzy as I would like.

Brand: Meat & Livestock Australia

Campaign: ‘The Greatest’

Agency: In-house

The verdict: Very different to the usual MLA ads.

Psembi gave it a 5/10, and said:

Beef so irresistible you can’t help but eat it no matter the inappropriate situation you’re in. It’s a pretty fertile campaign idea, so looking forward to see where it goes next.

The steak looks good, there’s a few nice touches like the smokey closh waggle and some admirable direction.

Jake gave it a 6/10, and said:

It’s rare to see an MLA spot with a simple premise these days, so kudos to them for trying to pare it down to the fundamentals. However, I have to wonder if it’s a little too pared down. With a household beef penetration of 92% in 2023, you’d have to think that Aussies are past the point of needing to be reminded how good beef tastes. To squeeze in to the few non-beef households left, I feel MLA needs to be thinking more broadly.

Maybe there are consumption occasions beef is underleveraged in. Maybe there are moments that just yearn for a nice slab of cow. Maybe people know how good beef is, they just need to be reminded where else it can be inserted in their lives. I almost feel like MLA needed the next evolution of 2022’s ‘You’re thinking beef’ campaign, rather than a departure.

That being said, it’s a refreshingly simple and well-made campaign. It’s an ad that feels like an ad, and I mean that in a good way. If the goal is to make beef look delicious, I’m sure it will get the job done – it just maybe could have done a slightly bigger one.

Justin gave it a 7/10, and said:

MLA have done a brilliant job over the years with their advertising. They’ve had an ability to find strong truths about the products and bring them to life in really engaging and unexpected ways.

With this spot they’ve gone with a much more familiar strategy around irresistible. I think it was very well directed, I like the visual reference to The Menu and can imagine Liam Neeson would’ve been on the casting brief. I do think they could’ve had more fun with the ending, multiple diners could’ve been served the exact same half eaten dish.

It’s a good ad, but for me not to the high standards MLA have created for themselves. Medium to well-done, marble score…

Brand: The Kids’ Cancer Project

Campaign: ‘When I Grow Up’

Agency: 3rdspace

The verdict: An important piece of work for a good cause, but the execution misses the mark slightly. 

Psembi gave it a 3/10, and said:

Good cause but a very familiar strategic and creative execution that quickly feels like charity wallpaper. A cause this important deserves something to capture more attention and prove to be more effective.

From WaterisLife’s ‘Bucket List for Four Year Olds’, to Breast Cancer Now’s ‘Last One’, to Macmillan Cancer Support’s ‘Whatever it takes’ to Sick Kids Foundation’s ‘SickKids VS: Undeniable’, a powerful charity vision can lead to incredibly moving and effective work vision.

Jake gave it a 5/10, and said:

Obviously, a very important piece of work. Communicating the issue through the lens of childhood dreams makes for a strong tension between the privileged reality most of us have had the fortune of experiencing, and the much more harrowing alternative.

However, for me, the execution slightly misses the mark. I understand the two alternatives were pushed to the extremes to make the switch hit harder, but the result feels a little caricature-esque. I wonder if a little more nuance – more quiet to let the feeling sit – or a more grounded approach would have served the idea better.

Stronger craft helps a campaign linger. St John’s ‘Break the Barrier’ is a prime example – the performances and sound design alone are the reason I still remember that campaign 10 years later.

Regardless, making work on a topic this heavy is no easy feat. It’s emotionally taxing, and it sits with you long after the last asset is rolled out. Clearly the team at 3rdspace put a lot of thought into building their emotional punch, and while it might not have been a haymaker, you’ve got to respect them for getting in the ring.

Justin gave it a 7.5/10, and said:

It must be an incredibly difficult time for charities with the cost of living pressures on families, trying to convince them to part with excess money. I think this ad does a lovely job of playing off the very common construct of ‘When I grow up….’ and then landing the piece about children who don’t know if they ever get the opportunity to live out their dreams.

They could’ve taken this story further by showing multiple kids at the end, who want the chance to live out their dream. Hopefully there is other work attached to this, which encourages consumers to donate. I think it’s a lot to ask for a consumer to see an ad then find a site and donate money. It would be great if tech was built into the spot or they came up with other disruptive ways for consumers to give money.

Nice spot for a very important cause.

Got a tip?

Lauren McNamara

Lauren McNamara was the associate editor at Mumbrella. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left Mumbrella in August 2025.

Linkedin

topics Better Beer Better Cider Campaign Review creative DDB Innocean Jake Mesidis Justin Ruben Meat and Livestock Australia MLA Oblong Creative Psembi Kinstan review The Kids' Cancer Project

Share Tweet Share

Have your say

Login with:

Continue with LinkedIn

or

Comment anonymously

Your comment will be marked as unverified

Name

Comment

Δ