Merrick Watts fronts steak on the barbie campaign
Five months after cold calling Meat & Livestock Australia as part of a radio stunt to offer his services to promote red meat, Merrick Watts is the face of a new marketing campaign for steak.
The campaign features Watts resurrecting the celebrated Tourism Australia campaign fronted by Paul Hogan and attempting to eradicate the phrase “Throw another shrimp on the barbie”.
The project came about after Watts – who co-presents the Merrick & The Highway Patrol drivetime show on Triple M – called the MLA when Sam Neill was dropped as the organisation’s red meat spokesman.
July’s phone call:
At the time MLA’s Andrew Cox, group marketing manager for consumer programs at MLA promised to meet with Watts.
This weekend, MLA launched the new campaign. Watts is fronting a petition aimed at persuading Tourism Australia to remake the ad.
Updated: Since publication on Friday, the video has already had more than 600,000 views on youTube. In the main this came as paid pre-roll although the campaign has now switched to seeking organic views. The ad also began to air on TV on Sunday night.
The campaign asks supporters to go online to sign the petition calling for the ad to be remade. BMF is the agency behind the campaign.
The original 1984 Paul Hogan ad:
Cox told Mumbrella that the campaign was BMF’s response to a brief asking for an “assertive” approach to owning the idea that you couldn’t have a barbecue without steak.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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As long as merricks cooking, ill take 2 of ur fattest, juiciest steaks you got on offer!!! Bring it on merrick, keep up the good work
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Re do the add we call them prawns not shrimp
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Put another steak on the barbie sounds more like it! keep up the good work merrick.put one on for me.
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Brilliant. Well done BMF.
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Hilarious. Nice one MLA and BMF.
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Love it
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I love this campaign and Merrick is fantastic -! Love it, Merrick id like mine medium to well done thanks !
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A SNAG doing a steak ad, what next?
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This is fantastic. I smell this going viral.
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Merrick……you could at LEAST use an actual BBQ and not a weber! You call yourself an aussie…c’mon mate!
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almost as much astroturfing in this comments stream as this is on the petition website
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Why’s he cooking a t-bone and not a porterhouse?
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awesome stuff BMF – love it!
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600,000+ ‘views’ on youtube, and only 200 likes. That’s rather odd.
Can someone from BMF tell us whether or not they’re using automated software to increase views? Seems pretty suspect to me.
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Hi Hmmm,
Not automated software. But views that run as pre-roll ads are (correctly) counted as views.
There was a heavy buy across the weekend.
Nothing suspect about it.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
yet another cringe worthy ad selling what? Generic advertising is a huge waste of producer money. Minor celebrities and ad agencies are the only ones winning on this stuff. I will check with my butcher clients.
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Pre-roll views count to the total view count, but only after 30 seconds or something. Viewers who skip ad after the 5 seconds don’t count to the total views.
People must actually want to watch it…
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If merrick is cooking then im in.
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i think this is a gr8 idea,well done to all concerned
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Couldnt put it better myself – we have the best and safest meat in the world so lets enjoy it
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Ill cook with the big fella anyday steaks for breaky lunch and tea
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Go merrick n go the steak, real Aussie tradition…
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Yes put another nice juicy steak on the barbie
Then when its done have it with barbie potatoes & aussie mushrooms also on the barbie
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There is nothing better than a Aussie steak on the barbie in God’s Country with a beer and great mates & family.
Australian quality meat is my love of my life!
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Put another steak on the barbie for sure… every good Aussie needs steak on the barbie !
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Put another steak on the Barbie:)
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Yum steak on the BBQ now that’s Aussie Wat Aussies throw shrimps on the barbie um none that I know lol…
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Cook up the lamb backstraps or some scotch or a Tbone, cant go bloody wrong 5 days a week , good werk mezza
ozzy ozzy ozzy
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AWESOME!!! Right now the Beef industry needs all the help they can get. It takes a lot of hard work to get from paddock to plate (or BBQ) and it is fantastic to see someone like Merrick willing to promote such an awesome Australian commodity! Beer n Beef – what Australians do best!!
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i agree this is australia
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Just would like to add, and if there’s any way you could throw this into your campaign … I’ve never called a prawn a shrimp in my life – and just because Hogan did, to communicate to a Yankee audience – it would now appear that the younger generation think prawns are called shrimps … anyway, you might like to help swing the vernacular back to Ozzie crustaceans being referred to as prawns!? Please?
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Feed the man meat! Love ya work Merrick!
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Shrimp… Pfft. steak for the win!!!!!! C’mon straya we need to lift and become true Aussie blokes and chicks. shrimp is a shocking word. steak steak steak!!!!
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we don’t even call it a shrimp
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I agree throw a steak… it even sounds better!!!
Steak all the way!
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‘nother banga on the barbi?
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Yep, I agree with ”throw another steak on the barbie!”
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Well done!! Anything but shrimp and tofu.
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Thankyou what you are doing is great, everyone says throw another shrimp on the Barbie when we call them “Prawns.” Great effort steak is also a lot better because I’m allergic to seafood.
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on ya merrick!! I’ll be sure to throw another steak on the barby when you come around!!! Keep up the good work ya little aussie battler!!
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