MLA reminds consumers ‘you can’t get realer than real life stuff’ in ‘Lambalytica’ summer campaign
Meat and Livestock Australia has turned its sights to data and cookies in its 2020 summer campaign, encouraging Australians to put their devices down and ‘get real’ – with lamb.
The annual Australian Lamb campaign comes slightly later this year and takes its inspiration from the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, which saw personal data used without consent.
The ad shows Lambalytica researchers mining data to find people who need to get off their phones and back to real life, hacking their devices to send them out into the real world. It also sees longtime Lamb ambassador Sam Kekovich feature briefly in an animated cameo.
Graeme Yardy, domestic market manager at MLA said the campaign sees the body return to its roots – as a unifier.
“As a brand, Australian Lamb is famous for unity. In this digital age, we wanted to use the power of lamb to disrupt social media, peel people away from their screens and get them together over a tasty Lamb meal.”
Executive creative director of The Monkeys, the agency behind the campaign, Vince Lagana, said: “The ongoing conversations surrounding social media platforms and privacy have made us even more aware of the influence our devices have on us daily. We wanted to flip that on its head in true Lamb fashion. So in this campaign, ‘Lambalytica’ taps into the very devices that keep us apart to bring Aussies together for the ultimate social feed – a Lamb barbie.”
The ad premiered on Monday, January 27, on Foxtel and free to air (FTA), as well as appearing on Facebook. It will be pushed out across digital, social media and radio, with PR agency One Green Bean driving earned media and social.
UM is coordinating with radio media partner Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), who will support the campaign across multiple channels. The partnership will also see the Hit Network’s Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little bring the campaign to life on-air in the future.
The campaign is a departure from the political nature of MLA ads in the past. In 2019, Australian Lamb’s summer campaign argued for the uniting of Australia and New Zealand, referencing the Malcolm Turnbull/Scott Morrison leadership spill. 2018’s ad brought about a musical number poking fun at Australia’s ‘culture wars’ and the division between the right and the left.
Previously, MLA has faced criticism over campaigns including the 2017’s boat people spot and the spring campaign which featured a number of religious figures enjoying a barbeque. The campaign was eventually banned by Advertising Standards.
Credits List
MLA – chief marketing officer: Lisa Sharp
MLA – domestic market manager: Graeme Yardy
MLA – brand manager: Anna Sharp
Creative agency – The Monkeys, part of Accenture Interactive
Group chief creative officer and co-founder: Scott Nowell
Executive creative director: Vince Lagana
Creative director: Scott Dettrick
Creative team: Danny Pattison & Barnaby Packham
Head of planning: Michael Hogg
Group CEO and co-founder: Mark Green
Managing director: Matt Michael
Group content director: Ciaran Miller-Stubbs
Content director: Victoria Zourkas
Content manager: Will Davies
National head of production/Senior Producer: Romanca Mundrea
Producer: Cathryn Cooper
Production
Production company: Plaza Films
Director: Paul Middleditch
Producer/EP: Peter Masterton
Cinematographer: Daniel Ardilley
Editor: Stu Morley – The Editors
Colourist: Ben Eagleton
Post-production and VFX: Fin Design
Sound Production
Sound post-production: Song Zu
Sound designer: Simon Kane
Music: Ramesh Sathiah
Executive producer: Katrina Aquilia
Music
Level Two music
Run to Paradise – Choir Boys
Post and VFX: Fin Design & Effects
Head of visual effects / EP : Alastair Stephen
VFX supervisors: Mikey Brown & Mikey Smith
Producer: Isabelle Howarth
Media Agency – UM
Charlotte Berry: Strategist
Jonny Day: Connections designer director
Hayley Pyper: Client director
Jenny Lam: Senior partnerships manager
Bridgette Roche: Partnerships manager
Bernadette Banasik: Partnerships trader
Andrew Hales: Partnerships executive
PR Agency – One Green Bean
They were bound to miss one eventually. I usually love these ads but this one is terrible.
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Hmmm, I get how they needed a new take, but this is just a little lame. It will probably speak well to the boomers though
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Lame Lamb in 2020.
Is this the best they can do? Who the f*** will understand this messaging?
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The lamb strategy has run out of legs. Needs fresh thinking.
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