Croc shock in Bundy’s ‘favourable lie’ spot
Leo Burnett Sydney has put to air a new campaign for Bundaberg Rum, directed by Mike Maguire via The Directors Bureau.
The first 60-second spot was followed up by two more spots – the second one apologising for the first and the third spot apologising for the apology.
The spots introduce the founders of Bundaberg Rum, a group of Queensland sugar millers from the 1880s. The Bundy brand owes its heritage to the resourcefulness of these millers, who began distilling Australia’s Famous‟ rum to make use of the molasses left as a by-product of extracting sugar from sugar cane.
The history is told through these characters and demonstrates how Bundy‟s special brand of ingenuity still inspires Australians today. The 60-second execution was launched first on TV, closely followed by the online release of 45-second and 30-second follow-ups designed to demonstrate the forward-thinking of the Bundy sugar millers in anticipating reactions to the original spot.
“The aim was to tell the brand story and acknowledge its inventive credentials, with a side of typical Bundy humour,” said Matt Bruhn, Marketing Manager, Bundaberg Rum. “It’s the Aussie way to make the best of whatever we have at our disposal – the Bundaberg sugar millers did just that and they encourage the heroes in the ad to do the same.”
The three commercials will be seen on TV, digital and in 3D cinemas. The ongoing brand campaign will run across print and outdoor, continuing into the
New Year.
CREDITS
Agency: Leo Burnett Sydney
Executive Creative Director: Andy DiLallo
Creative Team: Rob Kleckner and Dan Oliva
Creative Group Head: Tim Green
Executive Producer: Adrian Shapiro
Client Services Director: Peter Bosilkovski
Senior Account Director: Kirsty Reynolds
Typographer: Masataka Kawano
Production Company: The Directors Bureau
Director: Mike Maguire
Production Designer: Alexis Ross
Producer: Gustav Geldenhuys
Editor: Stewart Reeves @ The Editors
Music: Dmitri Golovko @ DG Music House
Sound Design: Simon Kane @ Song Zu
Post Production: Animal Logic
Nuke: Jess Burnheim
Nuke & Shoot Supervisor: Guido Wolter
Shoot Supervisor: Jonathan Dearing
CG Artist: Mark Serena
Animal Logic Producer: Melanie Wickham
94 Comments
awesome.
That is good S*@t. Great idea, great execution. Bravo from an account guy if that counts…
funny
Drop nothing!
great stuff
Axing a bear and blowing up a crocodile in the one spot. Love it. I hope they make many more.
Nice one, Green T & co
epic epicness
while BRum will probably never be the smart rum, this kicks posh ass.
huzza!
love it – true bundy flavour
simply splendid old boy.
love it. about time we got something beyond 4 blokes and a bear. the millers look really cool as well
I remember presenting (good) scripts to this client.
Fuck me…not a chuckle! It was a seriously tough room and I’m sure times haven’t changed.
I know how much work must have gone into this and you should be congratulated.
I hope the blog is not too hard on you.
Nice direction. NIce pomposity. But the exploding tee is a croc. Give me a Southern anytime.
I love it when the crocodile explodes.
honestly, am I the only one who thinks these are a crock of shite?
or is that a concerted PR strategy by the LB Diageo team?
I actually called my wife into the room to watch them again.
fail
if not the tvc of the year, certainly the funniest
This is just…. great all-round.
Hats off.
Huzzah!
Huzzah! Three cheers for the new direction for Bundy.
I do miss the guy in a bear suit though
Rubbish. Not even amusing.
Tip of the hat.
Very funny. Well done.
Why does the guy have an exploding tee on him?
Not fantastic. Not shocking either.
Bizarreness might help it stand out on TV though.
Nice idea. Over-acted. Under-directed.
fantastic wonder what WWF will think?
i love it. i hope this is really successful so it will encourage our clients to let us do more funny/weird stuff. we’re light years behind the US and UK in that regard.
crockin
2.57, you’re definitely not, but it looks like you and I are the only people in the room who don’t work for Leo’s or Bundy.
“But where’s the bear mummy?”
“Polar bears are extinct now dear, all their ice melted.”
“Good, I never liked that cunt.”
Nice work.
This fucking rocks.
3 times and it gets better.
GOLD.
I love those guys. That’s how its done.
I can just feel the mouth-breathers out there creasing their collective mono-brow in attempt to come up with something to deride this excellent work. What a bad way to start the week, eh?
Excellent spot, great characters and acting and I see longevity in these past this campaign.
We forced to put up with that Bear for so fucking long that this brilliant welcome relief!!
It almost seems like the last tragically animated spot of the Bundy Bear was done SOOOO badly on purpose, just to get this passed………Love it.
thank god, a liquor ad that’s just plain stupid/ridiculous funny. take note, beer!
Brave work from a big client with a lot of cash to spend. The more work like this that gets bought, the more fun all our jobs are.
So if you genuinely don’t like this, you’re entitled to your opinion.
But given that it’s a very nice ad, you’re probably slagging it because
you are jealous / andy didn’t like your book/ todd didn’t return your phone call/ you’re a bitter cunt.
Personally I’m jealous and I hope this works its tits off.
I think they should have 4.12pm writing their ads. Gold.
Capital effort old bean
Hats off to LB digital creative whose job it is to monitor this entry and let 10 “Excellent spot, great characters and acting…” fly for every negative comment is made. Absolute shite TV.
Love it love it love it.
Huzzah.
Black dude with the opera specs is fucking hilarious
the thinking man’s rum? Hmmm yeah, maybe not.
Really like the ad though.
very Family Guy.
without the humour
Poppy cock ! I’m sorry to say it , but it feels like a mish mash of random ideas, held together by an end line thats as old as the hills. The crusty old fart is interesting, but the exploding tee and croc just aren’t clever enough or funny.
May the good Lord take a liken to ya, and blow ya up real soon.
Croca doodle do.
You can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!
The rules of golf allow a player to remove a large reptile from the green (explosives are neither specifically excluded as a means to accomplish said removal, nor are they expressly prohibited). Advice, however, from a spectator, even a mythical historical character and his entourage about how to play any shot is forbidden, and will incur a two stroke penalty with the ball being replayed from its original lie.
refreshing!!
best bundy work in years.
very refreshing for oz. love it!!!!
fucking horrible…
This kicks Old Spice guys ass big time!
Stupidity doesn’t necessarily make something funny. Sorry, but Skittles does this a lot better and a lot funnier.
Oooh shit loads of comments but most of them positive. Which I’m guessing are agency side.
Still, not being an agency person, that means it was good.
Huzzah.
There should be an award for the creators of this spots endless blogs endorsing their ad, in ways that endeavour to make it seem that there are alot of folk out there that actually like this spot……and to be honest ,it’d be the only award this hammy,unfunny tvc would win.
Only an American would have the balls to get this idea over the line.
Caddyshack meets Blackwater meets The Time Machine, or Time Bandits, without the dwarves. What happened to the dwarves anyway? They were there in the original pitch, weren’t they?
Very Lo-Brow, but this is Australia, and Bundy, so give the people what they want, I reckon.
Hardy Har Har.
H.L. Mencken, “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the (Australian) public.”
I’m not sure it’s an exploding tee, I think the croc blows up for no reason. If so, me likey.
reading these negative comments I now have a greater understanding of why Australia lags behind in the comedy department.
– a pom
Anon’s morning
7.15 – arrive at Leo Burnett
7.16 – turn computer on
7.21 – finish making coffee
7.25 – write first positive Bundy comment
7.26 – surf net/check email
7.38 – write second Bundy comment of day and 19th in all
7.40 – grab Tele, head off to lavvy for dump #1
tbc
Sorry but truthfully…its a croc!
geez some of you people must be doing some truly farkin incredible work if you think all these positive comments are only made by Leo’s.
Or you could be a bunch of bitter, twisted douchebags wishing you got to do funny TV spots instead of fridge wobblers.
And No IDW@ Leo’s
9.41 being such a witty punster, you must write some quite astounding advertising.
where do I buy a Huzzah! T-shirt?
Sooner or later Leos will get tired of astro turfing and everyones opinion will be known. It’s a croc…. kind of inspired by ‘stay premium gentlemen’ but done in a corny and brainless way with no real insight or idea.
After reading these comments, I can’t believe I’ve just watched the same ad.
“if we can produce Bundaberg rum from a horrible molasses surplus..’ wtf?
Well there’s the client brief on the page right there. Throw in a load of bizarre comedy characters to deliver that message in a humorous way. Add an exploding croc, just because it’s weird. Then deliver a strap line that has nothing to do with what we’ve just watched ‘The thinking man’s rum’. Er…
Yes it’s different for Bundy’s. But it’s still shit.
And what moron thought this was better than Old Spice? You haven’t got a clue fellas.
Truly, it’s lazy attitudes and work like this why Australia lags behind the US and UK.
you guys are taking yourselves way too seriously. this is just a big dumb ad and it made me laugh and it’s a hell of a lot better than 4 blokes and a talking polar bear. personally i love how the client’s brief is slammed in our faces. 1. punters will never notice that and 2. what do you think old spice does?
i’m not saying this is as good as old spice, cos it’s not, but it’s pretty funny.
i wish i had clients that would buy stuff like this
Anon’s Day contd
10.18 – Group Account Director writes the next one for me
10.24 – start thinking about other angles to use in comments – it’s getting tough.
11.11 – Eureka!
11.12-11.50 brainstorm with team for fresh inspiration
11.52 – bingo
i don’t even like leo burnett but i have to hand it to them – great work and brave to do it with bundy.
was slightly ambivalent, thought it might bit a little too kooky – then i laughed at huzzah.
the fact i genuinely laughed makes this ad one of the best i’ve seen come out of this country lately.
it’s not amazing. but it is VERY original compared with the other shit that’s floating around.
and i laughed so it worked.
Old Spice delivers the client brief in a totally original and funny way.
This ad doesn’t. That’s why Old Spice is winning every award out there, and this one won’t.
Also, it’s our job to take things like this seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I love funny and dumb ads. But this is so try hard, it’s just convoluted and messy.
LB are on fire at the moment!
Hahaha exploding golf tee… comedy.
I like it and brave for a difficult client usually hell bent on researching the hell out of everything. Only question for Diageo is will bogan Bundy drinkers who love boobs and that stupid bear like it. Possibly not.
Stand up the boy who did the Mr Muscle ad.
You know what I hate on this blog more than anything? The tossers who think they are so damn clever because they ‘busted’ one of the creators of a piece of work making a comment. Holy shit dude, you’re right! I bet Leo’s are all sitting at their computers posting comments about their own ads all day rather than writing more ads! I can just picture it! What a navel gazing bunch of douchebags over there in the Rocks!
Man, it infuriates me. Leo’s are winning all the awards and taking all your business. Get back to work.
No, I don’t work at Leo’s and I like this ad. Made me laugh. At least they are having fun.
whole lotta awesome
1:25. are you seriously suggesting that people at Saatchis are white-anting this ad? What evidence?
12:36 there’s more than one agency in the Rocks. I’m suggesting that Leo Burnett, who are also in the Rocks, are not sitting around commenting on their own ads. Nothing about Saatchi.
POST NOTHING!
If we, a band of creatives, can enjoy this ad and have a laugh then surely you cunts can shut the fuck up and keep doing ads for mums.
BELOW-THE-LINE THINKING!
Made me laugh – as did hearing ‘top shelf thinking!’ – after working on Diageo in UK, reckon that’s spot on. Huzzah!
(PS get the tshirts out asap).
Have to say I thought it was pretty ok.
But the comments from the agency gave me a bad aftertaste.
Take a closer look at all those awards LB have won recently. How many are for legit, fee paying clients?
8:08 well lets look Canon, Diageo, and Subaru, Wow all the biggest accounts have won at international show. Great point. Well done LB. Keep up the good work and ignore the haters.
canon, subaru and diageo, for starters.
i was just talking to a guy in bundaberg – he asked me to tell you all this:
“you’re just a bunch of coke sniffing, back patting, pony tail wearing advertising wankers who don’t know shit about shit – why don’t you get off this forum and go and make something of your lives that your kids might be proud of one day? unless you’re a homo – in which case what the fuck are you doing reading comments about bundy? poofs can’t handle rum”
ha ha, you LB lot are an international joke. Totally bogus work.
anymore negative comments? love this blog!
Wow. 4:11 way to come out on the blog as homophobic douchebag. And what might I ask do you do for a living?
3:38 like I said – just passing on a message from a guy in bundaberg – I don’t know what he does for a living sorry.
I am pretty sure he does a real man’s job though – don’t cry too much or your crayons won’t work on your layout pad anymore…
…fag!
9:27
I fail to see how LB are an international joke. I am not saying that there work has changed the world or anything serious like that. But some good stuff have come out of them as of late.
Are you able to so proudly put fwd some of the ground breaking and society changing work that you have produced lately or even ever?
Unless you have forgotten or think that your jobs are bigger then what they are (which I assume so due to the massive cock stroking ego’s that float round these forums) the idea of what the add is meant to do is sell a shit load of cane champagne. Which it no doubt will.
Get over yourselves or you may take yourself a little too serious and think you are changing the world or doing some to contribute to society.
end rant.
Leo Burnett aren’t in the rocks, they’re in welsh bay. they probably like to think they’re in the rocks, bit like someone who lives in east redfern and calls it surry hills.
nice spot fringe flickers.
old spice ad … this is better
dove evolution… this is better
gorilla ad…. this is better
revolutionary 1984 apple ad…. this is better
VW lemon….. this is better
are you serious, the only ad this comes close to competing with is the easy off bam ads which are just as pointless and completely irrelevant.
the ‘thinking mans rum’ that statement alone is such a paradox that just saying it should erase all existence. Its bundaberg rum for gods sake. if you drink it…… you aint a thinker.
nuf said
Who the fuck posts this shit? Do agencies actually ‘prime’ blogs with positive comments to set a tone? They must do. How is this ad good? Yes it’s whacky and zany, but it’s not funny. It’s contrived and tries so hard it hurts. Maybe I’m getting old and I just don’t get it.
My God, this stuff is excruciating. Especially the apologies. Talk about flogging a dead crocodile.
Good on Burnett for the attempted humour.
Be good if next time it was actually funny.
What kind of sad situation is it when agency and client minions resort to self-aggrandisement on a website aimed at advertising folk? Why would you do that?
The gushingly positive comments here are clearly designed to re-calibrate what would otherwise be overwhelmingly negative sentiment for a look-ma-I-shot-the-telly series of commercials that redefine unfunny.
It is an indictment on anyone involved with the campaign to take to this blog in an effort to prop up an obvious turkey. It makes me dislike the commercials even more, which is surprising given how much I detest them already.
Do us all a favour: post your work then fuck off!
Is it only me who has seen happy gilmore? this is a blatant rip off, that I dont feel has any relevance to the brand, just more ripped off cheesy aussie shit tvc that’s all I can see.