Chance to make ad history at South Pole Maria Nguyen
Former ad man and marketer turned explorer, Rob Porcaro, is offering Australian agencies an historic opportunity to shoot the world’s first TV commercial at the South Pole as part of a fund raising initiative for youth charity group Discover Australia.
The offer coincides with Porcaro’s solo expedition to become the first Australian, and only the second person in the world, to trek to the South Pole unassisted.
The mission is due to commence in November and can accommodate a production crew, which will join Porcaro’s support team on the flight to meet him at the Pole.
While the trek itself will cost Porcaro half a million dollars, the production team can reserve their seats for between $100,000 to $200,000, with the full fee going to Discover Australia, a not-for-profit youth leadership program.
Porcaro, who up until now has spent his entire career in advertising, working for Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett, and his own consultancy Total Brand Management, said he will be filming his journey using the latest digital technology for potential network screening, “so even if the agency does not want to send a crew, we can film the concept for them”.
Products such as whiskey or cleaning powder could make creative use of the icy location, he said, because “all you need is an idea that’s set in the frozen landscape and natural 360 degree white cyclorama of this final frontier”.
“In the face of the freezing temperatures and challenges ahead, the ad shoot may appear light-hearted but it is an opportunity for us to raise more money for Discover Australia by donating the shoot fees,” he added.
Porcaro’s team-mate, Matt McFadyen, is also expected to arrive at the South Pole a few days after Porcaro to become, at 23, the youngest person in the world to complete the “treacherous” expedition. Both are offering themselves as talent for TVC shoot.
