Lee Lin Chin is new ‘lambassador’ aiming to bring ex-pats back home for Australia Day
The latest Australia Day Lamb advertising extravaganza has landed with SBS newsreader Lee Lin Chin the new “lambassador”, heading Operation Boomerang to rescue Aussies abroad from going without Lamb on Australia Day.
Lee, who has developed a massive social media following amongst millennials over the last year and is an icon of SBS, replaces last year’s “lambassador”, the late cricketing legend Richie Benaud, while the founding “lambassador”, Sam Kekovich makes a guest appearance in the ad as a gung-ho helicopter pilot.
Like last year, the ad features a range of cameos including Wallabies captain Stephen Moore, famed for remaining slumped in his cubicle long after the Rugby World Cup loss to New Zealand, retired cricketer Mitchell Johnson, chef George Calombaris and a Princess Mary lookalike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i15OPuFvmA&feature=youtu.be
The ad opens with Lee on a frozen Warsaw balcony on Australia Day 1996, desperately trying to light a barbecue before screaming out in frustration and vowing that no Aussie will never be allowed to go without lamb on Australia again and launching Operation Boomerang.
Sam Kekovich never far from a lamb ad
Playing out like a Hollywood action film the ad, by The Monkeys, then sees a strike force fanning out across the globe to rescue ex-pats from the misery of an Australia Day alone and without Lamb.
There is also a cameo from Nova Sydney’s breakfast hosts Fitzy and Wippa.
MLA marketing director Andrew Howie told Mumbrella one of the challenges was living up to the legacy of the Australia Day Lamb ads – perhaps the only anticipated annual ad in Australia – and doing so on tight budgets that would not even pay for some of the international talent used in ads by other Australian marketers.
“The idea is there are certain key holidays across the calendar where Australians abroad get home sick – they are forced to play a game of cricket in the car park in New York and that sort of thing,” said Howie.
“I think Lee Lin Chin is really an unexpected hero.”
Howie said that MLA had looked at a number of potential “Lambassadors” for the latest ad after the death of Richie Benaud last year, before settling on the quirky SBS presenter.
“(Lee Lin Chin’s) personal following on Twitter is amazing,” he said.
Lee boasts more than 68,000 Twitter followers and SBS is running a campaign to get people to vote for her as best presenter in the Logies. Importantly she has also built up a cult following from her comedic appearances on SBS2’s The Feed amongst younger audiences.
As the strike force crashes into people’s homes and workplaces around the world to rescue them, one rescue crew accidentally arrives in the house of a vegan and they are forced to abort the mission, with Lee quipping “pah, vegans”.
The campaign continues with the theme developed by The Monkeys for MLA last year “You’ll never lamb alone”.
Howie said that other marketers in the category were lifting their game.
“The protein category is getting very competitive,” he said.
“One of the challenges is when you produce fantastic work you are struggling to be better.”
The recruitment of Lee to the role also addresses criticism the lamb marketer faced last year with some claiming the ads were too “whitebread” and dominated by males.
Scott Nowell, co-founder of The Monkeys, said the idea of the campaign was to seed early interest with a teaser released this week.
“You never try to repeat what you have done, but you try to maintain the standard,” said Nowell.
“I really hope two things for this campaign. I hope people are surprised and I hope we sell a shitload of lamb.”
The campaign was released online on Sunday morning and will hit TV on Monday with a heavyweight media schedule in the lead up to Australia Day on January 26.
Simon Canning
Will there be more to follow in the next few days???
… this seems like just a follow up teaser to a teaser… unfinished business from Meat&Livestock here… need to deliver a punchline or “gotcha moment” …
Was expecting – an actual real campaign (a *competition or lottery* ???) to bring home “x” number of Aussies abroad from each continent (or country-?) … and actually put “some meat on the bones” of “promises” of original teaser.
These ads in previous years have also proved to be very popular amongst the expat population too – and throwing a little fuel on the chances of this year’s going viral internationally (backed by Australia’s forgotten army of 1M+ unpaid international ambassadors) is a chance that should not be overlooked.
… tie in with a campaign partner like Qantas or Virgin Australia and you’ve got a carnivorous combined trade export-&-tourism campaign ready to fly !!!
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Every new year, around about the same time, something quite extraordinary happens …
We get ordinary people doing something quite extraordinary, looking forward to the next TV ad in an on-going ‘actual real’ campaign.
Meat and Livestock Australia.
First with BMF, and now with The Monkeys.
First with the sadly missed David Thomason and now with Andrew Howie.
This is what happens when you combine the talent, passion and bravery of a great client with an equally great agency.
It’s that simple
And that difficult
(Sorry Darren, it hardly needs a ‘lottery.’
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Or how about this year, we can decrease global warming by 50% by not eating animal products……
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Beautifully crafted. Not sure the idea is very unique.
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Nobody outside of this ridiculous industry is waiting for anything. Just another ad campaign that might get seen.
Selling Lamb to Australians is like booze to alcoholics.
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Tom, Australian animal flatulence has been estimated to contribute to at least 5% of total global warming. This campaign will go a long way to reducing that, moreso than not eating them and letting them fart up our planet’s demise…
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Nice. Anyone else pick up a few nods to Sicario in the build? Well done Monkeys and whoever directed it.
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+1 Reality: Literally noone else cares – they will probably think it’s cool when they it on their newsfeeds for about 5 seconds, then they got on with the rest of their day.
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Boring as bat shit.
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‘Operation Boomerang’ for an Australia Day promotion?
MLA’s racial sensitivity is in line with their sensitivity for compassion aka non-existent.
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@EEB you could do with more meat in your diet, it reduces the symptoms you exhibit.
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@ Tom. I really hope that’s tongue in cheek, otherwise what a ridiculous stat with no basis. Eating animals contributes to 50% of global warming??? So pollution, manufacturing, power generation, cars etc, only contribute 50% combined?
Awesome, better get the PR agencies onto that one…
“Hey, guess what everyone? We’re (insert industry) not the worst contributor to global warming, eating animals is! So leave your air-cons on all day and drive where you would normally walk in 5 minutes”
And EEB, what a load of crap. you want a stat that Tom would be proud of? 99% of consumers dont give a crap about your politically correct BS. Only your fellow chai latte sipping hipster mates.
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well I really enjoyed it. Well done to all concerned
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The first time I watched the ad, it came across to me as a boring, pithy waste of money and it really pissed me off.
The second time I appreciated the story and humour a bit more. It’s done well, I just don’t like the message.
Really… MLA, I think you are a bunch of tools!
I eat meat in moderation only and I still respect my vegan friends.
When I think MLA I think: agriculture; animal cruelty permissive (esp for their handling of live exports); climate change denialist; thickheaded; mindless consumption.
This ad falls into the spectrum of reinforcing the qualities of mindless consuming thickhead; and climate change denialist by proxy.
Fine it’s a bit of a funny story to make people buy lamb.
But if I’m really wrong about the brand… then can someone exercise some real creative juice and give me an entertaining ad about that?
I might not skip eating lamb as often as I do if this pack of idiots with a huge influence on the industry were focussed less on profit at the expense of sustainability and animal welfare.
There are good reasons to be vegetarian or vegan. How about they stop putting shit on it and start acting more responsibly?
Your bulls**t message doesn’t work on me.
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Wish I’d made it.
Well done Monkeys – awesome stuff.
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Its a poor ad and poor comedy. Lowering themselves to ridiculing vegans, just wait till the pork and beef industry hire them, look out jews and hindus’s. Very poor taste indeed.
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@Darren, Nova are running the promotion, bringing x Aussies back for Fitzy & Wippa’s biggest Aus Day BBQ. The comp started this morning, looks like theyre pushing it out through social and radio. Great stuff I say!!
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This ad is so offensive, what a waste of money.
An insult to vegans, vegetarians the indigenous community.
I don’t think killing and eating a lamb represents what being an Australian is about.
I think Australia day is about more than a lamb chop….
Not to mention all the violence, again what a waste of money.
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Too much time on their hands!
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Great ad, only to be out done by a fantastic range of comments
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This advert just reinforces violence as an acceptable form of expression. If people think it’s ok to joke about being violent towards compassionate minorities, then I worry for the safety of all women, children, and anyone with a belief slightly different to the norm. If eating lamb causes people to be violent, then I certainly wouldn’t be encouraging anyone to eat it!
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Love Lee Lin Chin. The spot is great fun – and works. Particularly enjoy reading all the worthy, earnest and politically correct commentary. Happy Australia Day!
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Have a kinder Australia Day and do not eat any animals products so that no more animals have to suffer.
See Five ways to cruelty free living http://www.animalsaustralia.or.....living.php
I am a proud financial supporter of Animals Australia.
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OK, I may have got just ahead of things…
@Zara – Thanks heaps, #OperationBoomerang “Phase2” is just the sort of thing I was getting at – & good on Nova (& MLA) !
– I guess Fitzy&Wippa’s cameo’s was meant to be a bit of a clue eh? 😉
… and it doesn’t hurt any to compensate the “main character” of the campaign (or its best supporting actor at least) by throwing a leftover bone with just a little meat on it to the “small” group of 1M Aussies abroad does it? Surely they wouldn’t just be used dressing for the main course of domestic lamb…
https://mumbrella.com.au/mla-to-bring-australians-home-from-overseas-for-a-lamb-bbq-as-kicker-for-operation-boomerang-338909
– Glad to hear this is not just the UK and extends to Aussies internationally!
https://twitter.com/fitzyandwippa/status/686305356545277952
@Gawen – The campaign may not *need* a lottery per se’ – but it’s certainly a means to extend/enhance it – right?
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Some of these comments are unbelievable! Rusty, I’m with you. Only in adland will you find people with a beef (cough) against lamb….
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A particularly unimpressive ad. Too long, too self-indulgent and a ultimately big yawn. No doubt the controversy is welcomed by the sponsors.
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Greatest mystery of 2016: Why traditional creative agencies continue to produce ‘letterboxed’ video content.
The extra space available in real estate of the video format would look much better in full glory colour rather than black.
Perhaps they think we are all viewing video with squinted eyes, effectively only able to see a very thin strip of detail?
Do they think we are at a cinema still, leaning back on the chair from the front row because the view is so full on? Is the majority of the views of this content on IMAX screens?
No. We are watching on computer monitors, where the end result is quite often a rather small embedded, self contained video unit.
Please get over this outdated oversight. Thanks.
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For God’s sake where did Australians sense of humour go. Fun ad guys don’t let the wowsers get to you. Now I wonder who is upset about my reference to God?
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Dressed as a Lamb Ad.
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