How topicality took Gruen to another level
Last night, I’m sad to say, was the last of the current series of The Gruen Transfer.
And for me, it was the most entertaining yet.
But I must admit, I’ve been a little surprised at its ratings success.
I say surprised, because my instinct would be that the more the ABC show dives into the strategic minutiae of marketing, the more it would be a turn-off for the public.
And yet the more detail it’s gone into, the more popular it has become. Which shows how little I know about telly.
But what made this series stand out for me is that by recording closer to transmission time, it was able to deliver a much more topical edge.
I can think of at least a couple of moments this series where my viewing was spoiled by professional annoyance at myself that they’d tackled a topic I should have gone after – and done it well.
A great example was their coverage of the strategies behind tobacco manufacturers’ attempts to beat the law on plain packaging.
The Gruen Transfer told this story in a better way than any other trade press or mainstream outlet.
And they did that several times this series. The Kogan/ Harvey Norman battle is another example where they took the story on.
For those of us working in or around the industry, we should appreciate what we have here. To have an intelligent weekly prime time discussion of the world of advertising is something that doesn’t happen in any other market.
I’m sure the series four recommission announcement won’t be far away.
Tim Burrowes
I thought last night was one of the worst episodes of The Gruen Transfer I’ve seen.
I’m a fan of the show and watch it most weeks, but I didn’t like this episode as much as I usually do. Wasn’t a fan of the euthenasia segment
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>>I’m sure the series four recommission announcement won’t be far away.
If things go according to past form, it’ll move to TEN.
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I thought the chicks in the airline ads were hot!
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I love the show, and can’t wait for next season, but was totally umimpressed with The Pitch. I thought both agencies failed miserably. The sum total sheep product was woefully executed and I don’t understand why the judges gave it such rave reviews. I thought both were equally poor and would have expected more from the agencies involved.
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Tim, I agree with your comments – I’m suprised how successful this series has been with the general public.
Im in PR and watch it with my boyfriend who’s an engineer, and actually enjoys it even more than I do. In fact, last night, he told me he thinks advertising is the coolest job in the world, and wants to change industries!
Think it definitely glamourises the industry in which we work (unless you work in it and know the truth!)
Really enjoyed last night’s episode.
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I’m surprised at your surprise, Tim. I do not work anywhere near advertising or marketing but love Gruen. I admit that one of the reasons I enjoy it is because the show is generally about television, one of my main fascinations. Primarily, however, I love it because it is a show populated by (generally) intelligent people discussing everyday matters that can impact anyones life in a way that does not (generally) patronise nor pander to morons. Why would you be surprised this is a successful model?
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jh above is right. It may show that you don’t know much about telly, Tim, but it also shows that most people who work in telly don’t know much about telly. I’m perhaps not surprised, but rather heartened that one of the few Australian show on TV that doesn’t treat its audience like idiots has been a big success.
It some ways it’s a no-brainer as the ad industry is full of creative, witty and intelligent people (imagine if they used their powers for good rather than evil!) but at the same time they struck gold with Todd and Russell. Both smart, good performers but the fact they disagree so regularly it what makes the show work.
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If u think they didn’t choose 2 heads of the largest ad agencies because they play it up to make good tv…u gotta be pretty naive.
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