Lamb ad tears down border restrictions in time for Australia Day
The sharpest satirical commentary about state
divisions over COVID-19 border closures has hit TV
screens in the unlikely form of an advertisement for
lamb.
The campaign from the Meat and Livestock
Association satirises border restrictions caused by the
pandemic and is the latest in the trade association’s
14-year campaign to boost lamb sales for Australia
Day.
The ad starts in 2031, when giant concrete walls
tower over state borders. An inquisitive pensioner
pokes at a crack in the wall. A hand reaches through
from the other side and offers him a delicious lamb
cutlet, prompting Australians to rise up and tear down
the walls.
The campaign tosses aside the convention that
advertisers should shy away from offending
customers as it skewers Queenslanders, rugby players,
West Australian plans for secession, Tasmanian’s
sailing skills, Sydneysiders in designer sneakers,
Instagram influencers, even Apocalypse Now.
Scott Nowell, co-founder and group chief creative
officer of ad agency The Monkeys, says the campaign,
which tries to hit the zeitgeist each time, has such
awareness that it is like a Super Bowl advertising
moment for the MLA.
“This year with COVID for the first time we have hard
borders. We thought, ‘if we took it to the extreme
what’s Australia going to look like?’," he said.
“This year has been so nuts that a concept like that
isn’t inconceivable - that there might be a wall.
“It’s comedy but comedy has its roots in truth.”
Graeme Yardy, domestic marketing manager at MLA,
said a Sunday lamb roast was always a meal that
brought Australians together.
“We want to be as connected as we possibly can,” Mr
Yardy said.
“But we recognise the borders are there for a reason
and we are not making light of that.
“We are facing the adversity of the past 12 months
together and that's what we want to highlight. People
are ready for a bit of a laugh. We try and take on
something topical but we always try and lighten the
mood.”
The ad was created by The Monkeys, owned by
advisory group Accenture, and directed by Ariel
Martin of Airbag.
The advert was filmed before Christmas when NSW
had fewer restrictions. But “Lambassador” Sam
Kekovich, the former AFL player, had to be digitally
inserted from his hometown of Melbourne.
The Meat & Livestock Association's summer lamb
campaign celebrates how lamb can unite Australians.
Over the next six weeks, the “Make Lamb, Not Walls”
campaign will receive heavy airplay over television,
online, outdoor and social media.
In 2016 Operation Boomerang featured SBS
newsreader Lee Lin Chin spearheading a military
effort to repatriate Australians, including Princess
Mary of Denmark, while a 2015 ad featuring cricket
legend Richie Benaud hosting a BBQ boosted lamb
sales by 35 per cent.
But last year’s ad, which satirised surveillance culture
and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, was poorly
received after it was delayed until January 27 due to
the bushfires.
The history of memorable lamb advertising stretches
back even further. Back in 1990 a youthful Naomi
Watts turned down dinner with Tom Cruise because
“mum’s doing a lamb roast”.
The Meat & Livestock Association reimagined state
borders as physical Trumpian border walls in its
annual January campaign designed to sell lamb.
“We never seek to be controversial, we just try and
reflect the conversations that are going on,” Yardy
said. “We are here to sell more lamb and it helps to
keep it top of mind over the summer. One thing about
this campaign is that it bats well above its worth.”