Page 46 - Adnews Magazine January 2022

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of people would still know who he is (sorry Sam). Maybe it’s time for an update, keeping the main idea of lamb saving the world/Australia but letting go a bit as well.”
Tom van Laer, associate pro- fessor of narratology, University of Sydney: “Meat and Livestock Australia’s summer lamb cam- paign uses a paradox, a figure of speech that arouses reflective thought.
“It is an apparent contradiction — that is, a combination of elements which seems illogical at first sight, but becomes more possible the more you think about it, as illus- trated by the final conversation.”
Question: “I told you there was a whole world out there. So, where do you think you’ll go first?”
Reply: “I think I’ll stay here a little longer.”
He says the lamb ad’s primary function is to attract attention. The persuasion has to come from the subtext.
“The ad stimulates the viewer and makes them think,” says van Laer. “Yet because it is less directly persuasive than previous lamb ads, this year’s ad also summons up unintended associations and thoughts. The campaign therefore provides food for both the barbie and for thought.”
Sam Walters, General Manager, Consulting, Cubery: “MLA has suc- ceeded in recent years by treating advertising as ‘sponsored entertain- ment’ — producing content that peo- ple actively want to engage with.
“Their approach has consist- ently leveraged two powerful drivers of advertising success: storytelling and humour. This year’s ad, like many before, finds harmless comedy in the current state of the nation.
“And while the MLA team likely wouldn’t have predicted where we’d now be compared to when the ad was initially conceived (eg, meat supplies being stripped bare from supermarket shelves), if you do humour well and put a smile on people’s faces, they’ll generally overlook subtle insensitivities.”
Pitch doctor and AdNews col- umnist Greg (Sparrow) Graham: “Another brilliant lamb campaign from the MLA to celebrate Australia Day.
“The ad stimulates the viewer and makes them think. It summons unintended associations
and thoughts. It provides food for both the barbie and for thought.”
Tom van Lear, University of Sydney
“This time of the year I look forward with anticipation how The Monkeys are going to unite Aussies around the barbecue with lamb.
“Another special campaign that captures a cultural moment and takes the piss out of this crazy pandemic. The intriguing stories are multi-layered; with each engagement you can pick up on a funny detail you may have missed.
“Importantly, the Australia Day story is diverse with realistic casting plus the lamb product is the hero. Sam helps glue the campaigns together over the years and I just crave a lamb chop every time I see the campaign.”
The campaign in 2021 was about lamb bringing down the state borders, put up during lockdowns to control the pandemic. In that sense, this year’s is a sequel, this time with an international focus.
Yardy at the MLA: “We also started to think about the conspiracy that Australia doesn’t exist, which is referenced in the ad. That we had closed our borders for so long that the world had forgotten about us. Eventually, this idea was developed into an idea that we had forgotten about the rest of the world and that the world was rediscovered through the power of Australian lamb.
“The key message that’s present in all lamb campaigns is that lamb is the meal that brings people together. Lamb is perfect for sharing and there is nothing that can’t be solved through a lamb barbecue.
“For this campaign, the problem was to reunite Australia with the rest of the world. So we sent out the lamb cloud to get everyone back to Australia. When we speak with Australians overseas, and when I have been overseas, I have missed a good Aussie lamb chop. That is the key message — lamb forever the great unifier.
“We have had a positive response from lamb producers all around the country.
“Producers know that this ad is the jewel in the crown of an incredible Australian industry that deserves to be celebrated every year. The ad generates a monumental buzz every year — it’s all over the news and goes viral. But most importantly, it boosts sales of lamb all around Australia as people host barbecues in summer.”
Tasty morsels from the 2022 lamb ad for the Meat and Livestock Association.
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