A burning ambition to create advertising that gets the country talking: Why The Monkeys are Campaign Brief Australian Agency of the Year
Creating brave campaigns that fast became cultural moments, hauling in countless accolades, adding 20+ new clients and securing some of the brightest talent in the business, over the past year, it could be said no other agency has made quite the same kind of impact as The Monkeys, Campaign Brief’s 2021 Australian Agency of the Year.
The quantity and quality of work being developed, client businesses being transformed and The Monkeys’ ability to lead industry progression can all be attributed to a burning ambition to create work that gets the country talking.
Whether it’s taking ‘Help’ to the nation for NRMA Insurance, showcasing 11 million reasons why Telstra turned payphones into freephones, or transforming popular Aussie slang into a women’s calling cry for change with UN Women Australia, The Monkeys made it hard to turn away from some of the big issues facing the nation.
In fact, the agency’s work for Meat & Livestock Australia, ‘Make Lamb Not Walls’, went globally viral, prompting The New York Times headline: “Australia’s States Are Feuding Like Siblings, What Else to Do But Laugh”. And, whilst it’s one thing to raise the conversation about a nation’s political division, it’s another to cut through the confusion with humour. It’s this talent for purpose-led provocative ideas that elevates the agency’s work to unite, not divide, its intended audience.
When it comes to the year’s highlight campaigns, The Monkeys chief creative officer, Tara Ford, lists redefining Telstra with ‘Australia Is Why’, smashing sales for MLA with Summer Lamb and building upon the agency’s brand success with NRMA Insurance. However, Ford has a soft spot for the work achieved for UN Women Australia, citing the agency’s International Women’s Day campaign ‘When Will She Be Right?’ and ‘#EmpowerMoves’ for Inter-national Day of the Girl as two of her standouts.
Says Ford: “These are two very different campaigns, both very successful and talked about. It’s gratifying to work on something so important and meaningful.”
For Melbourne chief creative officer, Ant Keogh, standouts include campaigns for Supercheap Auto, BCF and Mountain Goat Beer.
Says Keogh: “One of our most interesting projects was to follow up our Supercheap Auto Bathurst campaign. When we’d originally been briefed the previous year, we’d conceived how the campaign might play out over time – before and after they lost the sponsorship. After the first year got so much traction with race fans, it was great to be able to follow through on it.”
Similarly, creating the next brand ad in the long running BCF campaign: “It’s so important for brands to have consistency over time, so when an agency and client can have the discipline to stick with a campaign idea and keep it evolving and entertaining it can be pretty powerful; the kind of work the average person in the street will be able to identify if you ask them.”
“The ‘Goat, Goat & Goat Attorneys at Law’ promotion was simultaneously completely ridiculous and yet so rational, when you consider maximising branding on a small budget.”
Creating work that’s translated into a spectrum of awards in creativity and effectiveness, both locally and abroad, The Monkeys picked up metal at Cannes, The One Show and Clio. Furthermore, the agency won a Webby and was also named the Top Webby Honoured Agency in Australia, and, along the way, took home seven awards at AWARD. Most importantly, the work has worked. The Monkeys picked up the Grand Effie but also four Golds, three Silvers, and a Bronze across three clients, seeing the agency crowned as Australia’s Most Effective Agency.
Winning Campaign Brief’s Agency of the year for a third time, Ford says it’s fabulous recognition and validation for the superbly talented creative team, both new and existing. Says Ford: “This incredible bunch of very talented people have worked very hard, so I’m thrilled for every one of them. The award is great acknowledgement in a year where, honestly, we could all do with a pat on the back (and probably a hug) and some motivation to keep pushing hard for the best work.”
The Monkeys co-founder and group CEO, Accenture Interactive ANZ lead, Mark Green, adds: “I think this year, more than any previous year, the team will really celebrate the win. It has been a challenging couple of years and we are so proud of how the team has adjusted and the great work it has produced across so many different clients. Equally rewarding is seeing how both the Sydney and Melbourne offices are contributing to an impressive body of work.”
Adds Keogh: “For the Melbourne agency, only a few years old, it’s a fantastic honour and an endorsement that we are doing the right thing.”
Growth and momentum was a priority in 2021. It’s a year that saw the agency cover more ground than ever before with the opening of an agency in New Zealand led by local industry stewards, CEO Justin Mowday and Chief Creative Officer Damon Stapleton, who both joined from DDB New Zealand. In less than a year, the team has grown to nearly 30 with foundation clients including ASB Bank and Meridian.
Says Green: “Opening in New Zealand was a big highlight and we cannot wait to see what Damon, Justin and the team bring to the table.”
Last year, The Monkeys recorded its best financial year in the agency’s history.
The agency also retained 100% of its existing clients, continuing its long-standing role as lead agency on iconic brands Telstra, Australia Post, Qantas, NRMA Insurance, Blackmores, Asahi, Berlei, MLA, Beam Suntory and BCF. Long-standing partners were joined by new ones following significant client portfolio wins across the business, including the appointment to the new Federal Government roster, Australian Vintage Wines, AHM, David Jones, Charter Hall, Uluru Statement from The Heart, Gulf Western Oil, BP, Macpac, Grill’d, Boozebud, Amazon, Paws and United Nations Women.
With clients now demanding more from their agency partner than ever before, Green says they require a partner that can connect and excite their customers.
“Clients need an agency that can create a product that engages and inspires the customer. That is how we are judged at the end of the day and I think we have put some of our most inspiring work out into the world over the past 12 months.”
Adds Ford: “Clients need great creative thinking now and always. Creativity can solve all manner of business problems way beyond just the comms. I think great agency partners show their clients what could be and how to get there. For us, it means applying our great creativity to utilise the full breadth and depth of capabilities with Accenture Interactive.”
Standout work in 2021:
MLA – Make Lamb, Not Walls
Australian Lamb has been uniting the nation for decades. After the most divided year
in Aussie history, where the feuding state premiers slammed shut their borders for the first time in 100 years, The Monkeys knew its challenge was tougher than ever. ‘Make Lamb, Not Walls’ was created as a satirical response to the nation’s division. Set in a not-so-distant future, where a giant wall cuts through the country. Everyday life is fractured, until the irresistible aroma of lamb inspires people to tear down the walls. The campaign earned 513 million OTS in 1421 media outlets, with sales up +16.1%.
Gulf Western Oil – Lone Rider
To kick off Gulf Western Oil’s first ever brand campaign, The Monkeys told the tale of a wanderer who roams the tough Australian landscape atop his trusty vehicle, with nothing but his wits and the world’s most durable engine oil by his side.
UN Women Australia – When Will She Be Right?
In Australia, we say ‘she’ll be right’ to dismiss problems we think will fix themselves with time. Based on current predictions, gender equality won’t be reached for 100 more years. But the UN has a goal to reach it in 10. So, on International Women’s Day, The Monkeys launched a campaign that rallied people behind the question; #whenwillsheberight? In the first 48 hours, the agency’s film was watched by one in 40 Aussies from organic sharing alone. Artists interpreted the message on socials, and the public joined in too. It appeared across the news, school and university assemblies, and was chanted at women’s rights rallies.
UN Women Australia – Empower Moves
In a year when women’s safety took up more of the conversation than ever,
UN Women Australia wanted to come up with a way for girls to feel safe again. The solution? #EmpowerMoves, a TikTok dance made
of self-defense moves. To create the dance, The Monkeys worked with a self-defense expert and choreographer to craft a sequence
of four simple, easy to remember self-defense moves. On International Day of the Girl 2021, Empower Moves launched organically on TikTok and a series of dance moves on social turned into a social movement.
UnLtd – Mood Tea
Youth suicide is the number one killer of young Australians. But funding youth mental health programmes can save young lives. So, The Monkeys created Mood Tea, the product
that generates profits to fund these programmes. The agency branded Mood, creating a modular typographic logo that changes, just like your mood. The launch campaign reimagined the mental health stories of real young people, encouraging consumers to ‘sip selflessly’. They agency then sold Mood online via subscription, ensuring regular funding for mental health programs for years to come.
Telstra – Australia Is Why
To prove all the good Telstra does for the country, The Monkeys set out to tell the story of what the telco does, and just as importantly, why. The ‘Australia is why’ new platform kicked off with film and outdoor, followed by the generous act of turning its 14,000 payphones across the country into freephones. To most, payphones are a forgotten relic of the past. But to those living in poverty, living rough on the streets, escaping domestic violence, or enduring a natural disaster, payphones are a vital lifeline for connection and access to support and emergency services. As well as helping shape the direction Telstra takes as a business and an employer, Aussies are starting to think a little differently about their biggest telco.
Suntory – -196
To launch Australia’s most extreme spirit, The Monkeys made the most extreme Japanese ads Australia has ever seen. Cue one Sword Master, two sumos and a whole lot of exploding frozen lemons to show the unique process of how Suntory’s -196 is made.
BCF – BCFing Fun Summer
Aussies love talking about the housing market. And now BCF, Australia’s leading provider of great quality holiday homes at unbeatable prices, weighed in on the conversation in its latest BCFing Fun campaign that helped Aussies afford a holiday house at the peak of the housing crisis.
Australia Post – Spread The Merry
Changing the way Australians look at their letterboxes,
Australia Post’s Christmas campaign reminds Australians that there’s nothing more exciting than a trip to the letterbox at Christmas time. The new ‘Spread the Merry’ campaign urges people to reconnect with loved ones they may not have seen for a while and deliver Christmas joy with Australia Post.
Mountain Goat Beer – Goat, Goat & Goat Attorneys At Law
Injured by an automatic door? Received a negligent haircut? Read a self-serving press release? Get the lawyers who will take you seriously – Goat, Goat & Goat Attorneys at Law. The latest venture from Mountain Goat Beer is dishing out compensation to Australians who have suffered some form of injustice. The promotional campaign features real Goat, Goat & Goat clientele who were brave enough to come forward and share their stories of injustice, such as Albert Garcia, whose fro-yo didn’t come with enough sprinkles.
Advertising Council Australia – Australians Can Beat Anything
The inspirational campaign spotlights how Australians have conquered it all – disasters like bushfires, floods, drought as well as
the GFC, and championed innovations including the cochlear implant to overcome deafness, and in the case of Fred Hollows, to help treat avoidable blindness. Australians share a determined spirit that means when we band together, and get vaccinated, there’s no doubt we can beat COVID-19 too.
NRMA Insurance – Help Like No One Else
If there’s one person you want by your side on the worst day of your life, it’s Judi, or ‘Spud’ as she’s known. Judi is an NRMA Insurance claims assessor,
who has been helping Australians in her role for 32 years. Her career reads like the greatest hits of Australia’s worst natural disasters. And that experience dealing with unimaginable situations is what makes her and her team the best in the business. The Monkeys brought to life the incredible stories of Judi and her team through a campaign that spanned film, radio and highly crafted long copy press and outdoor.
NRMA Insurance – Every Home Is Worth Protecting
Environmental protection has never been more in the spotlight, so NRMA reinforced its position on protecting what’s precious. The Monkeys reminded Australians that with NRMA every home is worth protecting, in an emotional story featuring two kids joining forces to create a koala sanctuary. The campaign not only sold insurance, but also raised awareness of the plight koalas face across Australia, despite the issue being overshadowed by the pandemic.
NRMA Insurance – New Wheels
Every Christmas morning, ecstatic kids and exhausted parents all spill onto the streets for a beloved rite of passage: the maiden voyages of the neighbourhood’s new wheels. Kids of all ages teeter out of their driveways on brand-new bikes, skateboards, roller- skates, and whatever else Santa delivered. It’s a beautiful, wobbly, timeless moment – and a reminder for road users to drive carefully around a different kind of holiday traffic.
Nearmap – Truth Is In The Detail
‘Truth is in the detail’ is a new brand platform that demonstrates how Nearmap’s high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, and Artificial Intelligence data sets can give organisations an edge, helping them to make more informed decisions – faster. The brand campaign highlights the firm’s intelligent aerial maps and geospatial data, which cover more than 90% of the Australian population, and how this can empower companies to discover the best visual data insights available in the country.
Amazon – It’s Okay, It Was Free Delivery
The Monkeys’ campaign for Amazon highlights how free delivery gives its customers universal permission to buy any item they want. It also suggests they have full consent to use that item in whatever way they feel appropriate, no matter what others think.
Supercheap Auto – Proud Sponsor of 1000 Bathursts
After 16-years of partnership, the Bathurst 1000 decided to replace Supercheap Auto as its official sponsor. In a cheeky move to remain part of the conversation, and instead of spending millions sponsoring the race, The Monkeys gave back to the town by sponsoring 1000 Bathursts instead. This included the Bathurst Bakery, The Bathurst Driving Range, The Bathurst Beekeepers, the Bathurst Under 13 Netball team, and many more local companies.
The rest you can read in the latest issue of Campaign Brief, which includes the annual CB Agency Hot+Cold Charts, out now.
You can view this issue online NOW and subscribe at Campaign Brief Online or request a subscription form from Mina via email.
3 Comments
Well done Monkeys. Well deserved.
a wonderful bunch
What a clever cartload of monkeys