Ritson: Lamb ad a success despite the critics
By Mark Ritson
It’s mid-January, temperatures are peaking and barbies are out in force. January 26 approaches and around the nation an annual debate once again takes hold.
Actually, it’s two debates. For regular consumers there is much discussion about the appropriateness and legitimacy of holding Australia Day on January 26. I will leave that one to the cultural commentators elsewhere in this and other newspapers. For marketing and media people the debate focuses on Meat and Livestock Australia and their annual summer lamb campaign.
For fifteen years the MLA has been using Australia Day and the cultural associations that surround it to promote lamb. From Sam Kekovich’s “Lambassador” to the contentious 2017 ad showing various gods and deities feasting together, no other campaign generates more discussion and debate within the marketing community.
This year’s edition is certainly no exception. The new campaign, launched with a flurry of publicity on January 11, features a West Side story style musical extravaganza in which warring political neighbours and their contrasting left and right-wing views are united by the prospect of lamb on the barbie.
The reaction in media-land has been almost exclusively negative. Commentary in the trades has criticised the concept as “childish nonsense”, the execution as “boring and unengaging”, and The Monkeys — the ad agency behind the work — as “appalling. Sackings should follow”. Several commentators even suggested the ad was a “strong argument for going vegetarian”.
6 Comments
Millennial media buyers take note.
Imagine if MLA just used social media.
Its just a strong argument not to watch TV. We all make crap. This is just maybe more crap than some.
Hey guys, Mark Ritson is the bad boy of marketing.
Time for a new idea AMLC.
Interesting spin and recovery attempt as Facebook and the so called regular public seem to feel the same about it.
Just get over it, move on and make something great again.