The Gruen Transfer sells out to the world
One of Australia’s most successful original formats, The Gruen Transfer is now going out to the world. The man behind Zapruder’s other films, Andrew Denton and ABC Commercial announced the hit format will be travelling overseas, renamed The Big Sell with the US based international format distribution company, Fox LOOK, a division of Fox Networks Group.
Launched in 2008 with record ratings, the ABC TV entertainment programis now in its third season, with audiences continuing to grow. Theepisode which aired on September 8 set a new viewing record for theshow – almost 1.8m* viewers across ABC 1 and ABC 2 or a 30.8% share.
“We’re extremely proud of Gruen and seeing our audiences continue togrow in our third series,” said Andrew Denton. “Now together with theABC we are stepping up our international efforts with the US formatspecialist, Fox LOOK.”
Lynley Marshall, Director of ABC Commercial said, “We’re delighted FoxLOOK has come onboard to take this hugely successful Australian formatto overseas territories and we look forward to seeing The GruenTransfer on TV screens around the world.”
Fox LOOK President, David Lyle, will be taking the format to theinternational TV community. “As an Australian working in theinternational TV business, I have been very aware of how well The GruenTransfer has done in beating the opposition, season after season,” saidDavid Lyle. “A smart, witty, contemporary show that demonstrates suchstrength deserves to be an international hit. Just as Australia’ssuccess with “Masterchef” turned heads elsewhere, so The Big Sellshould be Australia’s next big export success.”
The deal with Fox LOOK has been signed before the international TV market, MIPCOM in early October.
14 Comments
Good on them, just hope that in AmericaniZing the format they don’t lose the very thing that’s appealing about the show i.e. a dry, somewhat cynical deconstruction of how our industry attempts to influence consumer psychology.
Often when a show’s format is being copied there is a tendency to replicate the style and trappings, but neglect to carry across the often more nuanced things that give the show substance and tension.
May I take this opportunity to thank all those agencies and production companies who supplied free content and free talent for this venture.
Knowing quite a lot about your industry – particularly its penchant for supplying valuable intellectual property for free during exhaustive pitch processes – I hoped you’d get on board in the manner in which you did. So thank you all.
One final favour: do you think I should I invest in an ocean-going superboat, or my own island? Clearly both have their advantages, so I’m a little torn.
Yours sincerely,
The Guy Who Made More Money From the Australian Advertising Industry than any Advertising Person Ever Did.
1:32 – well said.
Let me guess, 1.32, you auditioned and didn’t get picked.
At least you’re not bitter about it.
Real creative people don’t go on that show. The ones that do aren’t worth it.
Good luck to young Andrew,
he counted on the Ad industry
wanting to show off their wares.
Not bitter.
I admire Denton’s intelligence and entrepreneurship enormously. He’s played the advertising industry like Don King plays boxers.
He’s smart. Really smart. And like I said, he’s going to make more money out of advertising than even the most successful advertising person.
That should give everyone pause for thought, yeah?
ha ha.
What really cracked me up was how much the show suckered in the whole industry with it’s pop psychology and faux intellectualism.
I’m with stupid!
So what if he makes more money? It was his idea.
And the people who choose to go on the show- surely that’s their choice and maybe they get a great experience out of it.
And if it means the consumers wise up a bit and advertising has to become better and smarter, well that’s a good thing.
And if it means that thanks to the appeal of the show, advertising starts to attract a broader range of people to the industry, well that’s a good thing too.
And no, clearly you’re not bitter….
Actually 3:30 a lot of the top people agreed to it then mysteriously pulled out. If you don’t compete you can’t lose.
Nice story but it’s pissed me off a bit, the fact that so many every day joes down the pub worldover will watch gruen times and think they know it all about our industry.
Alsowho was the idiot who thought masterchef was an aussie creation? it’s been in uk for years it’s just it did well here because the alternative channels are complete dross.
oh yeah Gruen, great show in series one, good series two, this series so so, and is it me or is Todds hair colour receding faster than Alpha’s readership?
The show will do well wherever it’s re-created; there will always be the solid industry type like Russ and the intense analytical type like Todd, but for me the non-transferrable, unique element is Wil, who takes the piss out of the pomposity of advertising and its ardent practitioners. I’m not sure who you’d replace him with in, say the USA. John Stewart already has his own show.
Anyone else noticed how one of the panellists seemed to be really intelligent and switched on in series one and has sort of gone downhill from there. Now I think he’d happily be a judge on Australian Idol.
Basically, the show has a win-win formula.
Denton and Co get money; the ad people get exposure. That’s what we all want, isn’t it?
Not many big agencies are represented in the Pitch (though some of the biggest are at the desk regularly), but that may be because they’ve got less to gain and more to lose than little agencies by coming out looking bad.
Or maybe the people at those big agencies just didn’t get permission from head office. (Sad, but most big corporations – including most big ad agencies – think of their employees as possessions.)
The show is regularly good fun, and the panelists know a damn sight more about the industry than 99.99% of people commenting here.
I just wish they could get Don Draper on the show one day.