FINCH’s Nick Ball helps TAB ignite national sports debate in new campaign via The Monkeys
For a nation of sport lovers, it seems strange that Australia doesn’t technically have a ‘national sport’. Is it NRL? Is it the sport that draws the biggest crowds? Or wins the most gold medals on the international stage?
To help start this debate FINCH director Nick Ball and The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song have crafted a grand slam of an argument that spirals out of control with fans from all walks of life and athletes heatedly adding their two cents, until, finally, the entirely distinguished and probably fictional ‘Australian Research Centre’ attempts to settle it once and for all.
TAB chief customer officer, Jenni Barnett, said the campaign would get the nation talking: “There’s no bigger debate in sport than what is our national sport? Everyone has an opinion and this campaign taps into that.”
Says Tara Ford, chief creative officer of The Monkeys: “This refresh for TAB is a fun homage to our passionate, sport-obsessed nation. Even though it’s light-hearted, the debate is real. We are finding many Aussies take the question of national sport, very seriously. We are looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds, knowing TAB is here for it all.”
The campaign, led by agency partners The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song and OMD, includes a pre-launch phase, a TV show, OOH, print, digital, social, radio and a suite of content from Ball, spearheaded by a rollicking 3-minute film.
Client: TAB
Creative: The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song
Media: OMD
Production Company: FINCH
Director: Nick Ball
Managing Director: Corey Esse
Executive Producer: Nick Simkins
Producer: Cath Anderson
DOP: Jeremy Rouse
VFX Supervisor: Stefan Coory @ Blockhead VFX
Editor: Elise Butt @ ARC EDIT
Colourist: Alex Bickel @ Color Collective
Casting: Peta Einberg @ Peta Einberg Casting
Music: Jonathan Dreyfus @ Stare Crazy
Sound Design: Simon Kane @ Massive Music
Creative Agency: The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song
Group Chief Executive Officer: Mark Green
Managing Director: Matt Michael
Chief Strategy Officer: Hugh Munro
Chief Creative Officer: Tara Ford
Creative Director: Stuart Alexander
Creative Director: Dan Fryer
Copywriter: Lizzy Wood
Senior Art Director: Brett Edwards
Head of Business Management: Topher Jones
Senior Business Manager: Mitch Bevan, Celine Dinant
Head of Production: Penny Brown
Senior Producer: Kaija Wall
68 Comments
is Gambling.
Would have been a much better finish. Or ‘whinging’. Spot was great until that point.
Brilliant. Wouldn’t that have been a refreshing end line?! At least taking some pride in the sad state of affairs today. I’d give you ‘em iota of respect. Maybe.
oooft this is good
ANOTHER CRACKER FROM THIS LEGEND AND HER TEAM
A lamb ad
Epic. To pull off a good 3 Minute ad these days is tough. Thought it might be a bit Londoner at the beginning but pulled through. Nice one.
This is killer work. Even if it is, well, furthering a terrible social evil. The craft is undeniably excellent, and waaaaay better/funnier than any of the usual bogan nonsense trotted out by Sportsbet or Ladbrokes. Also, on a side note – how cool to see Australia’s legendary jazz singer Gregg Arthur nail the role of the TV anchor? The dude adds a whole other level of class to the entire production.
A very well-crafted, very long journey to reveal a very disappointing idea.
BEST on ground.
What a great spot. Well done to all involved.
Genuinely brilliant return to the comedy spots Australia used to do so well but why the flip is it 3 minutes? Had to skip after the 2minute mark, gag gets real old real fast.
Way too close to Nike Londoner for me
Imagine you had that much money and you made something this boring.
this is fun
Just awesome, performance, edit, CG… best thing I’ve seen here in ages
Gambling and betting advertising is such a pox on our society.
Facebook? Google? Amazon? Alcohol? BNPL? Maccas? Cars? Qantas? Gas?
Most of what we advertise is a pox on society.
It’s called capitalism.
Like
…enough of the YELLING!
I was wondering why last week the cut-down version of this ad got put on a few marketing sites and not Campaign Brief. I assumed it was because the client was too scared of all the Adland comments? But here we are with Finch pimping this full length 3 minute bad boy out. To be honest, the ads M&C did were way funnier – but the Monkeys have done a good job at trying to rebrand TAB.
Monkeys raiding their back catalogue to rehash old lamb ideas
Paid for by young men having access to the TAB app. Looks nice though.
Very well done*.
* – I hate gambling as well as the gratuitous use of Asian nerd stereotypes.
Is our sport
Amen. While I suspect the ad isn’t designed to be the most nuanced & respectful (e.g., the football diving clip), they can do a lot better than the pocket protector, lab coat, schoolboy collar & jumper combo, disheveled hair, not conventionally attractive, basement-dwelling, Asian nerd stereotype.
He’s the hero of the story; he deserves better.
Getting busy in the comments. This is lacklustre work. A boring lamb ad. Jokes aren’t funny.
I’ve seen this on TV a couple of times and it just fell flat. Worse, I was disappointed to find out it was TAB at the end – and only realised what the end frame was a second later when they ran the mandatory gambling responsibility message. Makes more sense in this long version – but whose gonna see it besides us ad nerds?
I chuckled! Think it’s a lovely piece. Nice work team Monkeys.
it’s pretty bloody great
The film is ok, but why ditch, “long may we play”?
The craft is spot on but show us the cutdowns and how they will cut through in standard media placements or, have you just sold your client that will only feather the awards nest?
Big ups to Nick & Finch though!
Tortuous. We get it all Aussies think their sport is the National Sport, hardly enlightening stuff and why bang on about it for that long – and congratulations on the racial, economic and social stereotypes.
Great ad
GREAT to see the Balltrain shooting back in Oz!
toot toot!
Extremely well done…..but it’s gambling at the end of the day, so not good.
Total Absolute Bore.
Holy moley this is good.
Meanwhile Sportsbet pumping out the same old parochial, cringe-inducing garbage.
Nothing more confronting than coming back to Australia after a stint overseas and getting slammed in the face with a Sportsbet ad to remind you you’re back in ‘STRAYA
Big. Fun. Entertaining. Not two bogans in a pub. Fair play.
Could friends and family please stop commenting on this forgettable rubbish like its good. Monkey circle jerk.
Can’t help but shake my head at all the mealy-mouthed, miserable cretins on here trying to dismantle this GREAT BLOODY AD because of some imagined racism. Please take your tired woke nonsense elsewhere. You’re neither smart not correct, politically or otherwise. Also, ever consider maybe you’re the racist one in that you’re zeroing in on the ‘nerdy Asian bloke’ when everyone else is just seeing a ‘nerdy bloke’ (oh, and a great performance to boot – in fact, this epic spot is full of them). Maybe try asking the actor if he feels culturally appropriated or typecast? I can wager, so to speak, what his answer will be. Like me, he’s probably stoked that there are still budgets and brands out there to make work this great. I’m envious as hell. I’d love to make a spot this good. High-fives to all involved… except TAB.
Big. But boring.
Undeniably epic and fantastically crafted. You don’t see many spots of this scale in any market, so well done to all involved.
Why can’t people see the world differently to you without you getting all wobbly? It’s a fun ad. I simply felt the use of the actor was a lazy stereotype. Sorry if you’re too sensitive to see that. But, hey, it’s just an ad and just my opinion.
Nice ad. Middle was bloated but started and ended well
Great spot.
Appreciate the discourse. You raise a fair point; I see what you mean, and I (partly) agree. There’s nothing wrong with casting an Asian actor / actress in the role. It’s just another tick in the ‘lazy’ nerd stereotype, which is the main point of fault here.
Surely you can portray ‘nerdy’ without the whole Beaker get-up? The researcher look have evolved from the days of Lewis Skolnick. Just look at Byron Sharp as an example; he’s better-dressed than most creatives & suits these days.
The rest of the ad’s wardrobe selection is absolutely spot on (and the casting’s great), but the nerd feels like he’s straight out of Anchorman with the lab coat, pocket protector et al. (So does the ad, come to think of it…)
Ultimately, it’s just a tiny blot on a great ad… for a terrible product. No ‘wokery’ intended, but I can see where you’re coming from.
I got 47 seconds in and gave up.
I’m not sure what decade you people are from or what you consider good well crafted comedy work. To me this felt incredibly laboured, uninspired, bloated and boring.
Agree. Well put.
Wringing every ounce out of the ‘pitting Aussies against each other’ Monkeys playbook. Fair play, if it’s worked several times before why not flog it one more time?
Very good. Loved it.
The 60s was great. My boyfriend thought it was a nike ad until the end.
Good writing / insight.
This is good… don’t like gambling ads generally, but this made me smile… Wasn’t overtly about gambling which is nice to see and being a hero with your mates.
Oh wow, look at all that gambling money. Amazing production. I can’t remember three ad minutes going by this quickly in recent history. It’s not LOL funny but it sustains a long smile. Well done.
Good to see the CB comments aren’t as salty when work is good.
Just not as salty when they come from the agency.
When you blow a tonne of cash on a 3min ad that nobody has the time or interest to watch then you really got to back it up in the comments section.
I felt the nerd stereotype needed to be hammed up. It is funnier that it looks like a serious cancer researcher who cracked the code. It’s a brilliant spot except the reveal – fml. Complete let down. Welcome back to adland. It should have been ‘punting’ but I’m guessing that was the original script and not allowed. ‘Yay, we’re for everyone’ means you are for nobody.
MLA but make it less ethical.
Why in gods name was this 3 MINUTES. It’s for gambling and pretending to focus on an issue that doesn’t exist.
It’s good, but is it 3 minutes worthy?
Monkeys Sydney formula is starting to get predictable and tired. Apart from their Droga Accenture backed Cannes win of course.
A long TV ad. Cute. How retro.
This is a pretty safe bet
A long 3 minute ad about gambling that feels like a lamb ad but I feel worse for watching it. Ads suck
So the TAB take bets on gymnastics do they?
Generally, I liked it……I would’ve liked it if 4 or 5 swimmers had dialogue and not just a quik 1-2.
Is our national sport.
The lamb ads are terrible and this is just as bad if not worse as it would have had a proper budget
Good performances. Shaggy dog tale.
A 3-minute-long gambling adventure the whole family can enjoy together with a cup of hot cocoa
Gather round kids, it’s the annual movie from the company daddy sends his paycheck to through his phone