Director Phillip Noyce uses an animated kangaroo to sell Australia to FIFA for 2022 World Cup bid
December 2 2010, 4:27 pm | | 43 Comments
Prominent Australian feature film director Phillip Noyce has created a six-minute short film as part of Australia’s final presentation for the rights to host the FIFA 2012 World Cup.
Voting takes place in Zurich tonight with Australia up against Qatar. It starts with a giant animated kangaroo stealing the cup from FIFA headquarters in Zurich and bounding off into the sunset.
VIEW THE PRESENTATION VIDEO
And here’s Qatar’s slick 60-second bid commercial created by Y&R Dubai.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard makes an appearance, swinging around in her chair to say, “We want the World Cup but not that way”.With the cup safely pocketed in its pouch the kangaroo bounds around Australian landmarks – it goes for a surf on Bondi Beach, is overtaken by Cathy Freeman in the outback, jumps off the edge of The Great Ocean Road, re-emerges in Sydney Harbour – all while being hotly pursued by a man in black on a motorbike.
The biker, who turns out to be Paul Hogan, finally catches up with the kangaroo at the Sydney Olympic Stadium where he says, “Come on, hand it over, you’ve had your fun. I’m taking it back to FIFA” and the kangaroo realises the game’s up.
43 Comments
Kill it. With fire.
my…
f**kin embarrassing.
F**k you
Animated Kangaroo, not an bad idea for Australia to FIFA for 2022 World Cup. As we all knew this is also an national animal of Australia.
Great Zombie Jesus
Scooby Roo!
Simple promise wins against brilliant execution anytime. Check out US BID 2018 on You Tube. They have the stadiums, they have the fans, they have the cities. They also have the promise of voluminous moolah for the deep pocketed officials of FIFA.
OK music track, ordinary pics, very convincing. They win!
oh, my dear lord, NO. Make it go away. My eyes are burning.
Is this why they let Hogan off the tax evasion?
Oh, that’ll do it. All the sophistication of a cartoon animal. Amazing, and from a director who did Rabbit Proof Fence, A Clear and Present Danger, Dead Calm, The Ugly American, we get this pile of roo poo. Who Framed Robbie Roo? Bloody embarassing really.
Australia, land of cliches and cheese.
The same rules apply, whether it’s 30 seconds or 6 minutes 45. This corn-fest ignores its consumer , and talks me me me me me. Soccer is incidental to this cheese, not central. It ticks all the token boxes, but lacks any inspiration. It lacks any reason to award the tournament to Australia. No wonder this failed to make the sale. Who on earth advised Lowey etc to do this? What an amateurish concept and execution. I can only imagine the decision-makers viewing this video, tapping their feet impatiently and wondering “When is this going to get to the point?” . And it never does. Apparently Qatar said awarding them the Cup could inspire a solution to the seemingly intractable Middle East problem. Even if that’s ridiculous hyperbole, at least it’s got a real WOW factor – you’re allowed to dream of fantastic possibilities, just for a moment. Shame Australia, shame. Six and three-quarter minutes of pure cringe.
oh. sweet. jesus.
Why are we so scared as Australian’s of any sort of sophistication?
Looks like it went down a treat.
reminds me of kangaroo jack…which did gangbusters at the international box office if i recall
Horrible as it is, I’m sure it made no difference. Take a look at the stadiums Qatar will be building. More impressive than any presentation film (even if it is 1000 degrees outside).
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/qatars-incredible-stadium-plans-for-2022-world-cup-2149447.html?action=Gallery
It worked really well…nice work.
I think the one vote we got may have been from a FIFA member who has a soft spot for Dot and the Kangaroo.
This video says don’t take us seriously, which everyone but one person seems to have done.
Qatar rip off the Big Ad idea. How does that work?
And, if they win, where do you buy a beer? What will any law abiding football hooligan do if they can’t buy a drink drink?
You’re exactly right, 6:21.
Australia is mostly a nation of dumbed-down, cashed-up bogans ruled and influenced by an equally uninspiring elite of Channel 9-approved sporting celebs, wags and models. You can tell a lot about a country by its heroes. Example: France = Paul Cezanne, Marcel Proust, Louis Pasteur and Joan of Arc… Australia = Shane Warne, Ben Cousins, Stephanie Rice and Lara Bingle.
Shockingly bad on every level.
One vote
Qatar wins.
Proof that money talks, and bullshit hops.
I don’t like to admit it, but I think 9:54am is spot on. It’s more than valid point.
At least give them credit for planning ahead. This was obviously produced in 1997.
this makes me sick.
Philip Noyce’s showreel.
2010 – remake of DOT and the Kangaroo for 2022 FIFA WC. FAIL!
2010 Salt
2006-2007 Brotherhood (TV series)
2006 Catch a Fire
2004 Welcome to São Paulo (documentary) (segment “Marca Zero”)
2003 Tru Calling (TV series)
2002 The Quiet American
2002 Rabbit-Proof Fence
1999 The Bone Collector
1998 The Repair Shop (pilot)
1997 The Saint
1994 Clear and Present Danger
1993 Sliver
1992 Patriot Games
1992 Nightmare Cafe (TV series)
1989 Blind Fury
1985-1989 The Hitchhiker (TV series)
1989 Dead Calm
1987 Echoes of Paradise
1984 The Cowra Breakout (TV mini-series)
1983 The Dismissal (TV mini-series)
1982 Heatwave
1978 Newsfront
1977 Backroads
1973 Castor and Pollux (documentary short)
1973 That’s Showbiz (short)
There’s more to Australia than this turd of a world cup bid or the crap Tourism ads being squeezed out these days. But you’d never fucking know it from all the shit advertising and dumbing down going on everywhere.
and @poster at December 3, 2010 9:54 AM, you’ve made me nervous.
Cannes gold (if a ‘fucking worst promotional video in history’ category was to be introduced).
How fat is Thorpie? He’s got Huegill covered.
The commercial isn’t the actual bid. If you look closely, they concentrated on the soccer – not all the other crap.
This will be an awesome world cup, regardless, I’m looking forward to the 420,000 sq ft media wall, as well as the ‘Oasis’ stadium.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3Qw3nZTRQ4&feature=related
@December 3, 2010 9:27 AM
Exactly right. No idea how those behind Australia’s bid imagined this would impress the judges from more intelligent and sophisticated nations.
This is what happens when you think everyone on earth will get a chuckle out of us laughing at ourselves – which of course they didn’t/never will.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUEXxkoDZQA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cTvvcP_mto
they don’t make you feel better about the submission but you do understand why they got the bid. and it wasn’t just a :60 ad VS this film.
Clearly the Australian bid film was not the only reason we failed. But it certainly proved we’re utter lightweights. Australia does simply not understand how to play the game – and I’m not talking soccer. Corruption is how the rest of the world does business. We stupidly believe in playing fair. So, so naive on all levels. We never had a snowball’s chance in Hell.
Playing fair? You have to be kidding. $50,000 for pearl necklaces anybody? Our bid was the most crass, and thoroughly deserved to lose.
Everyone I know hates this thing. It’s scary to think someone signed this off.
the emperor has no clothes….nod noyce.
I have a strong view that there is a place for meaningful discussion about work out there and I too have a strong view about this one, but I do believe that there is no place for insults anywhere.
Phil Noyce likely didn’t come up with the idea and I feel for him that he’s being toted for full responsibility for some parts that are usually not his responsibility. His talent direction is fine, the story that he’s been asked to tell has been told, his camera work and production values with the film elements are up there. It’s likely that the calibre of celebrities in the ad would not have become involved without Phil Noyce being director. So, credit where credit is due.
I think that the most important comment here is the first half of Old CD Guy’s post – that the ad is just entertainment and nothing about what FIFA get, it’s ‘me,me,me’. To me that’s a major strategic mistake. If you’re pitching to anyone make it about their needs.
It’s been a creative call on someone’s part to make the kangaroo highly cartoon-like and perhaps Scooby Doo was even the brief. It’s not always the director’s responsibility on something like this when someone else is paying the bill. I haven’t figured out who did the VFX just yet and imagine if Phil Noyce is doing it he’d like a high end shop. All the same, my view is that the integration of the character into the scene is poorly done with flawed timing of the animation, and short-cuts have been made in interaction with the environment. The character fails to have that level of secondary animation that suggests it was rushed in the end or just not the budget it really needed. The character design missed the mark for me, other than a trusty pouch, it didn’t seem very female to me. (Or is it in Barnyard style where they have bulls with udders? Male kangaroos with a pouch)
Sadly the kangaroo is the story and most people will judge the work purely based on this character. It may be that the director wasn’t involved at this stage which is often the US film industry style and the advertising agency takes over. I guess I’m saying have a critical view but don’t blame until you know who did what.
I personally missed a lot of the celebrity cameo’s, but there’s something for next time. I think that all adds a nice dimension to it.
My last comment is that I also think that the short film/TVC has been made for a market that is not the local Aussie. So, it’s easy for us to be offended and critical when a portion of who we are (or who our character is perceived to be) is depicted out there for comedy and entertainment. I thought that the Aussie episode of the Simpson’s was much more offensive. Perhaps we could all lighten up a little?
Ms. Miles, “Business Manager and Strategic Specialist ”
Respectfully, you have no idea what you’re talking about. A director of Noyce’s stature would be an absolute fool to sign on to any project of this nature where he didn’t have complete creative control over the finished work, irrespective of who has the responsibility for creating the animated character design and integrating it into the live-action elements with visual effects. He’s not a commercial director who’s going to take on a project with an ad agency and let them finish it, and I guarantee that this was not the process here with such a costly endeavor as Australia’s FIFA World Cup presentation, nor with a artist of his reputation.
The truth more likely is that Noyce ventured into a world where he has had little experience (comedy and animation), and somehow got roped into a project out of his altruism/patriotism? that is more George Miller’s recent stock and trade. Possibly due to the economics, or the timing, or perhaps even the politics of choosing a creative partner for the animation and vfx work, Noyce ended up not collaborating with Animal Logic, or Fin, or Dr. D, or even Fuel or possibly another Omnilab company Iloura in Melbourne from the list of top Aussie post shops doing high end vfx and animation, but from what we can see in the credits on the Bid Australia website (http://australiabid.com.au/news-updates_detail.aspx?view=128), instead with another Mapp family holding, The Lab Sydney.
In the end, the director here is the last word on the final execution of the short film, but probably not solely responsible for the development of the concept and the script and the tone, although he should have exercised some of his clout in this arena as well. He’s had a long and successful career telling stories with gravitas for the big screen, with only a few failures along the way, so he can be forgiven for this turkey. Just unfortunate that so much was at stake for so many people here, with an own goal the result.
Ironically, what was called for here, was a piece of visual storytelling that would have been much more in line with the work that Philip Noyce has done throughout his career. A short film with emotion, with nostalgia for Australia’s history as a sporting country of legend, and the grit and determination of the Australian people from it’s indigenous inhabitants to it’s multicultural present.
What should have been made was something that would inspire the judging panel and move that audience to tears with the grandeur of the Aussie landscape and the character of the country reflected in the faces of Australians who come from every corner of the world and worship the World Game. What we got instead (and how that strategy was arrived at here in the aftermath of the debacle will probably die along with other great secrets like who assassinated JFK) was a bit of cartoon whimsy and light entertainment featuring Aussie celebs, an animated Roo, and a comedy crime caper.
What was needed was pathos. What was delivered was farce.
It’s this kind of short visual story from Nike, and US director Dominic Sena back in the ’90s that may have just won the day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnKAP3GembU
Some of you lousy fucks cannot enjoy a nice commercial