Apparently lamb can turn even the toughest fellow a bit soft, according to a new campaign for Meat & Livestock Australia. The ad sees a burly bikie embracing his maternal instincts after preparing a roast lamb for his fellow bikies.
The 45-second spot was created by BMF and aims to address the perceived lack of time people have for cooking a traditional lamb roast on Sundays. The spot promotes smaller roasts that can be cooked in 30 minutes.
Advertising for Australia’s meat and livestock industry has been a colourful affair over the years. Two main players contribute to the ads battling for share of fork – Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), which represents beef and lamb, and Australian Pork. Humour has played a prominent part in many of the executions launched by the pair, with parodies, music videos and irreverent rants keeping viewers entertained.
In this Top10 Marketing takes a look at the best meat ads over the past few decades. Try not to get the meat sweats!
‘Happy Beefgiving’
In this spot from MLA, hot air balloons in the shape of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott lock lips as they float above Parliament House. The campaign calls the cold months ‘Beefgiving Season’ and spreads the message that a little beef can warm up winter, and your relationships.
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‘The Cut’
In this campaign by Noble Brands Worldwide, Australian Pork takes on the dominance of the beef steak, by suggesting that the same portion of pork contains half the amount of fat. It’s a bid to improve health perceptions of pork and embed pork in the associations formed by the word steak.
Red Meat ‘Amazing Food’
In this execution from a series of spots that promoted the health benefits and evolutionary roots of beef, actor Sam Neill gives us his best David Attenborough impersonation before dancing with an organutan. Red meat makes you smarter, Neill says, crediting it for the development of the human brain.
‘Falling in Lamb’
MLA took a different approach with this parody of a film trailer. “A classic tale of boy meets girl meets lamb chop, reminding us all that, in spring, all you need is lamb…”
‘Lambstock’
Another parody, this time of music festival Woodstock. The execution shows hippies in a field passing around a lamb wrap as if it were a joint.
‘Get some pork on your fork’
This is a spot in a series of ads which plays on the innuendo behind the act of ‘porking’. In this execution, grandma proudly announces that she porks grandpa two to three times a week.
Australia Day Lambassador, Sam Kekovic
This spot is the first iteration in the now long-running Sam Kekovic, Australia Day lamb series, which has seen the ex-AFL player address the nation each year since 2007. The ‘Lambassador’ and his irreverent tirades against ‘unAustralianism’ are now a mainstay in the Australia Day advertising schedule, helping to ingrain the meat in Australian culture.
Sam Kekovich, Barbie Girl parody
This year Kekovic went a step further, starring in his own ‘chop hit’ in an attempt to go viral on Australia Day. The music video parody of Aqua’s dance hit Barbie Girl in which the ex-AFL footballer raps was the third most viewed video when YouTube released its list of viral hits for the year to date in July. Lamb’s Australia’s fare.
Lamb Fragrance parody
This spot shows two models cavorting through a field in a parody of a perfume commercial. Released in Australia as part of a Mother’s Day campaign for lamb, the TVC ends with the models sniffing a chop.
Dinner with Tom Cruise
One of the first times now-prominent Australia actress Naomi Watts appeared on our screens, this ad became part of the history of the Sunday roast. Watts turns down a dinner with then-‘it-boy’ Tom Cruise rather than missing a lamb roast with the family.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott lock lips as they float high above Parliament House in the latest tongue-in-cheek ad from Meat and Livestock Australia.
‘Happy Beefgiving’, created for MLA by agency BMF, features two flying kitchens lifted above Parliament House in Canberra by hot air balloons in the shape of the two party leaders. At the end of the ad, the faces on the balloons lock lips to deliver the message that a little beef can warm up winter, and your relationships.
The campaign calls the cold months ‘Beefgiving Season’ with ‘Beefgiving Day’ set for July 14 to encourage households to share some beef on the coldest day of the year.
Disillusioned by a pop culture in which we go gaga for a lady who wears lamb instead of eating it, ‘Lambassador’ Sam Kekovich has taken it upon himself to introduce his own brand of ‘chopular’ culture to combat ‘unAustralianism’ in the lead up to Australia Day.
Meat and Livestock Australia’s latest lamb campaign features Kekovich’s now annual ‘Address to the Nation’ and a music video parody of Aqua’s dance hit Barbie Girl in which the ex-AFL footballer raps.
In his address, Kekovich says that with unAustralianism having gone viral, his only option is to change his tune and do the same to combat the “litany of lamentable behaviour” that a lack of lamb has led to.
He claims that popular culture has hit rock bottom citing Shane Warne as an example: “The gossip mags have really gone googly-eyed over Shane Warne, who went from bowling overs to make overs to get his leg over, bleaching his pearlies for Hurley. The old Warnie would never have chosen a starlet over a cutlet. Or tweeting over eating.”
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The campaign, by BMF, aims to turn the three minute Barbie Girl video clip into a viral sensation and claim the top spot in Nova’s Australia Day Countdown.
Check out the clip, which also features pop starlet Melissa Tkautz, Australia’s Got Talent winners Justice Crew and a cameo from Richard Wilkins.
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Marketing is interested to hear your reaction to this reworking of a pop song for the purpose of selling meat, especially when compared to Coles’ latest release of Normie Rowe pushing hormone-free beef to the tune of Shakin’ All Over. Let us know in the comments or tweet us @MarketingMag.
A Millward Brown survey has found alarming consumer sentiment toward discretionary spending.
The survey revealed 67% of Australians are being more careful or actively reducing their spending. Also, 53% of men were more likely to simply buy less, while only 37% of women considered this option. Women were more likely to maintain brand loyalty and wait for price promotions, with 52% describing this behaviour versus only 35% of men.
Less than a third of consumers are switching to cheaper brands or stores’ own brands.
Ben Dixon, managing director of Millward Brown Australia, said the survey illustrates the power of strong brands, as it demonstrates consumers would prefer to wait for their favourite brand to offer ‘specials’.
“Meat and Livestock Australia’s Sam Kekovich Australia Day executions perfectly illustrate the benefit of impactful creative. These ads deliver three times the punch of the average Australian advert and consequently triple the MLA’s effective media spend through great, memorable creative,” Dixon said.
Of the 33% of respondents not actively reducing their spending or being more careful, 30% say the economy has little impact on their spending. However, only 3% feel comfortable increasing their spending.
The GFC has impacted most households, irrespective of income with 71% of low income and 61% of middle income earners being more careful or reducing their spending. Of high income earners, 57% report the same.
Those in their forties were most likely to buy less and those in their thirties were most likely to buy their favourite brands but wait for price promotions. Under thirties were most likely to simply buy cheaper branded products.
