MLA’s Australia Day campaign moves away from Kekovich rant to a Richie Benaud BBQ
Meat and Livestock Australia are moving away from the Sam Kekovich rant style Australia Day campaigns with cricket legend Richie Benaud fronting this year’s campaign.
The change in tactics comes after the appointment of The Monkeys to the lamb account last year, with a brief to create a brand platform to transcend the year.
In the new ad released today Benaud recruits a number of national icons, past and present, to attend an Australia Day lamb barbecue.
Sam Kekovich still warrants a place on Beanud’s invite list, along with the likes of Captain Cook, or ‘Cooky’, explorers Burke and Wills, bushranger Ned Kelly, cricketer Don Bradman and media icon Ita Buttrose. However when Billy Birmingham – best known for impersonating Benaud as the 12th Man – calls looking for an invite he’s bluntly shut down by the cricket legend.
It builds on the MLA’s spring lamb campaign, created by The Monkeys, which introduced the tagline ‘You Never Lamb Alone’.
Speaking to Mumbrella, MLA general manager of global marketing Micahel Edmonds said it was time for a change and the brief given to The Monkeys was to establish a new platform that can transcend the year.
“This is our 11th year now,” he said. “We’ve created a real occasion for people to enjoy lamb, it’s very unAustralian not to have lamb on Australia Day now, but with that comes an expectation that we’re going to do something pretty exciting each year.
“We decided it was time to move away from Sam’s Rant, which has obviously been very successful and we’ve extended it pretty well for 10 years but we need something new.
With The Monkeys, and also One Green Bean our PR agency and together with UM who were retained, the brief to these guys was to establish a new platform for lamb that really could transcend the year and together we’ve worked up a new brand platform that’s represented by the line ‘You Never Lamb Alone’.
“It was really important to evolve Australia Day away from the rant but to also have a theme that we can carry throughout the year,” Edmonds added.
The Monkeys ECD Scott Nowell said the MLA tasked the agency with creating “something that wasn’t focused solely around Sam”.
“The concept came first,” he said. “The concept of a legendary Australian organising a barbecue with every legendary Australian we could think of. Richie Benaud is just that legendary figure.”
Buts while the client wanted a fresh approach, it was made clear there would be a limited budget for it to be created on.
“It’s not just about about evolving away from the rant, something new and fresh and exciting, because underlying this from a marketing strategy point of view, money is limited and the cost of reaching consumers is increasing so we needed a consistent approach across the year through all our different campaigns,” Edmonds said.
Despite his limited role in the new campaign Kekovich will remain as the Lambassador and operating in the field, working with farmers as the face of lamb for the MLA.
“It was really important actually because it has been so successful for so long,” Edmonds said when quizzed on keeping Kekovich involved.
“Sam actually does a great job as lambassador for us out in the field. We’re funded by a levy from lamb and beef producers and Sam gets out there to a lot of events. He really is still the face of lamb and lamb advertising amongst our stakeholders which is really important. He is going to continue that role.”
On the choice of cricket legend Richie Benaud as this year’s frontman Edmonds said: “We just felt cricket was an iconic thing, it’s really popular at this time of year. Richie is an iconic Australia, it just felt right that we do something around that.”
Nowell said Beanud was “perfect for the role”.
“He’s such a loved figure, he’s the voice of summer”.
But on using him again in next year’s Australia Day campaign Nowell was cagey, saying the campaign was about the idea and not a personality.
“The idea is ‘Never Lamb Alone’, it’s not a person. We want the idea to be stronger than one personality so it can carry across the year so it’s not just a one hit thing during the year, we can keep it going,” he said.
The lamb account was shifted away from BMF to The Monkeys in September following a pitch in May but Edmonds stressed the organisation is still working closely with BMF, which retained the beef account.
“We’re still working really closely with BMF and they’re working on a really important program with beef,” he said.
“We just felt that it was time for a review, so we conducted a review last year, BMF were part of the process. We were keen to inject something new and we were impressed with what The Monkeys have done and they way they approach things, so we got them on board. And so far, so good.”
Nowell said they won the lamb account off the back of the ‘You Never Lamb Alone’ idea, and when presented with a pitch for the Australia Day work they applied that line.
“When we looked at the pitch for Australia Day we used that line and thought what’s the biggest and best way to get that across,” he said.
The ad was directed by Tom Noakes who directed the Finger Cleaner ad which was a finalist in last year’s Doritos Crash the Super Bowl competition.
“The director Tom Noakes did a wonderful job. That was a great collaboration,” Nowell said.
“He’s a young guy who wants to make his mark and he brought a lot to the equation.”
The campaign is complemented by a competition in which ten viewers, along with two of their mates, could win tickets to attend a BBQ to meet Benaud. To win viewers need to upload an impersonation of Benaud’s lamb BBQ call “Top Lamb Chop That!” to the We Love our Lamb Facebook page.
Previous Australia Day campaigns:
2015 Australia Day campaign Credits:
- MLA Marketing Manager – Andrew Howie
- MLA Brand Manager – Lamb – Magali Nonnenmacher
- PR Agency – One Green Bean
- Media Agency – UM
- Advertising Agency – The Monkeys
- ECD: Scott Nowell
- Managing Director: Matt Michael
- Senior Planner: Michael Hogg
- Head of Production – Thea Carone
- Senior Producer: Jade Rodriguez
- Senior Content Manager: Katie Wong-Hee
- Production company: Photoplay
- Director: Tom Noakes
- Producer: Belinda Dean
- DOP – James Brown
- Post House: FSM
- Editor – Stuart Morley
- Composer – Damian De Boos-Smith
- Sound House – Nylon Studios
Yeah, that’s a bit good that is. And particularly so in the way it still uses Sam to aid in the transition. Nice work, Monkeys.
User ID not verified.
Hilarious! I love it. Cookie is a legend
User ID not verified.
Genius. Love that Sam still plays a part and the Billy integration is genius… well done to all involved.
User ID not verified.
Not sure if Burke and Wills will make it. But Kingy will make it for sure.
User ID not verified.
Thanks guys for such an entertaining film, it really made me laugh. It’s become an annual tradition and this is a major step up from the old idea which was great in its own time. Excellent work Tom Noakes, the performances are spot on
User ID not verified.
Given the size of the production behind that spot, I now understand why cutlets are so darn expensive.
User ID not verified.
Gee not many women Australian icons to choose from? Feel offended for Ita at the tokenism. Women eat lamb too and do are generally the ones buying the stuff
User ID not verified.
Richie Benaud? Could someone tell them it is 2015, not 1985.
User ID not verified.
@Lisa “Women …are generally the ones buying the stuff”
Wow, are they also the ones doing the ironing and not being able to reverse park? As Magus said, it’s 2015.
User ID not verified.
I am loving it, nice work to all! Obviously the politics of representation & Australia Day are messy so this kind of thing is always going to divide. And it would have been good to have an indigenous character in there too but hey,i guess that’s invasion day…
User ID not verified.
This is so good for so many reasons.
User ID not verified.
I reckon they would have tried to find Indigenous personalities but the options would have turned it down. Not great for their cred to be in an Aus Day ad.
User ID not verified.
I think Michael Clarke would have been a better choice……plus more longevity in the campaign.
User ID not verified.
That is awesome. Well done Monkeys.
I love cutletsss…
User ID not verified.
@Sage Observer: One is an Australian Legend, one…isn’t quite.
User ID not verified.
I always look forward to the next instalment and this one has gone to the next level. Great work Monkeys! The only thing that irks me is there seems to be a disparate correlation between the quality of the ads and rising lamb prices. That’s coming for a bloke that does most of the grocery shopping in my household
User ID not verified.
Very tasty and never a dull moment – congrats Scott, Tom and all you clever Monkeys. I’m crossing my cutlets that Richie makes it to the 26th.
User ID not verified.
@Henry
If the higher price of lamb means that farmers are getting extra money for raising excellent quality lamb for us to fling on the BBQ, then I am happy to wear it.
User ID not verified.
Cooky! Genius, love it.
User ID not verified.
Lambaque with Ritchie? Brilliant
User ID not verified.
Love the ad. But why no British accent with Captain Cook? All the other characters remain true to their accents/characters.
Who missed this? Why??? Cook was British, not Australian.
User ID not verified.
Ita in the same breath at Captain Cook, Ned Kelly, Bourke and Wills, Don Bradman, etc.
Oh my …
User ID not verified.
Definitely agree it should have featured some indigenous Australians
User ID not verified.
Oh how did bmf let that slip through their fingers…
User ID not verified.
Nice one Scottie – well done mate.
User ID not verified.
Not sure about the slogan, but wh cares? Really really like this ad. Really.
User ID not verified.
Looking forward to the sequel! Bob Hawke on the beers? an Urwin or two?
Bingle running late; where the bloody hell are you?
User ID not verified.
That has got to be the worst Irish accent I’ve ever heard.
User ID not verified.
Good fun – nice one!
User ID not verified.
The use of Captain Cook in the ad in historically inaccurate as his landing at Botany Bay in 1770 predated the first Australia Day by 18 years. Captain Phillip led the First Fleet into Sydney on 26 January 1788 -the first Australia Day- so the ad should feature him instead of Captain Cook.
User ID not verified.
The real Captain Cook didn’t have a mobile phone either. So many inaccuracies.
Love the commercial. Well done Tom.
User ID not verified.
@OJR…… 99% of the Australian population wouldnt know that.
While Mumbrella readers would collectively like to thank you for the history lesson, I assure you Captain Cook was the smarter choice.
PS – I love lamb.
User ID not verified.
They didnt use captain Philip as his mobile was on vodaphone network and they could never get hold of him
User ID not verified.
Never mind mobile phones.
The ringtone is all wrong. It is JS Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Not published until 1833.
User ID not verified.
Didn’t recognise Ritchie Benaud-this old man means nothing to me. Had never heard of Billy Birmingham either and this part of the ad didn’t even make sense until I googled it. Husband says he had no idea either who the Billy man is.
Ad is awful -load of rubbish-fails on many fronts and as for historical stuff-pfft what a muddle
Bring back Sam on his own!!!!
User ID not verified.
Didn’t recognise Ritchie, hadn’t heard of Billy. I guess this campaign is not aimed at 12 year olds, Liz.
User ID not verified.
Yes i guessed it is aimed at 25yo + who have heard of Ritchie, Billy, Captain Cook, Ned Kelly, Burke & Wills, Sir Donald ,Ita and have a sense of humor lol
User ID not verified.
Oh and i would think the makers of this great advertisement were aiming to be hysterically funny not historically accurate 🙂
User ID not verified.
Whilst the rednecks and bogans here may be aplauding this ad, the real test , as with any advertising campaign, is how sucessful it will be with the wider Australian Community. X amount of positive responses on Mumbrella is meaningless. And if it’s such a great ad, how is it that the ad agency or MLA hasn’t been able to get it broadcast on any other TV network, other than the 9 network, or in theatres. Fact is the 9 network’s audience base isn’t the the biggest and the demographic that the 9 network attracks is certainly not one noted for being big or regular meat buyers.
User ID not verified.
The real question is what meat producing farmers think of this ad. After all its THEIR money which MLA is using to pay for the ad. Hint: have a look at the various online farmers forums. You might actually get a shock at how many farmers have voiced their criticism and dissatisfaction with the ad. Indeed, the general concensus is that the ad is aimed at the wrong demographic. Those who buy meat these days are generally the younger generation and has-beens like Bernard, Keckovich, Butterose and historical figures like Cook, Kelly etc have absolutely no meaning or relevance whatsoever to that demographic
User ID not verified.
its a great ad, no doubt. i didn;t get all the characters but you know enough to make it work.
big production, big risk, big result.
well done to all involved
User ID not verified.
Do we know yet how much lamb was moved? Do we know if the message will be retained so that people buy lamb soon? When we do (know), we’ll also know if this very appealing TVC has worked.
User ID not verified.