Australian Lamb Skewers The Generation Gap In New Work, Via The Monkeys

The hotly anticipated Australian Lamb ad dropped over the weekend, taking aim at the differences that divide generations in Australia and showcasing the uniting power of lamb on the barbecue.

Created by The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, and co-directed by Aimée-Lee Xu Hsien and Trent O’Donnell – a Millennial and Gen X-er, respectively – the film imagines a world in which the generations have been separated by The Generation Gap: an impassable chasm that keeps each age group away from the others.

Last year’s ad saw Australian Lamb poke fun at the term “un-Australian” which had been doing the rounds in the political discourse at the time. At the start of November, Scott Nowell departed The Monkeys, leaving Mark Green as the only surviving member of the agency’s founding trio.

Graeme Yardy, domestic market manager at Meat and Livestock Australia said: “Pop culture would have us believe that the generations are practically different species. Apparently, Boomers are unable to master the basics of technology whilst Zoomers spend every waking moment making TikTok dances and Millennials spend too much on avo toast and craft beer.

“But in reality, there’s far more that unites than separates us, and that’s what this year’s Summer Lamb campaign is all about. Whether it’s a love of our sporting heroes or our beautiful landscapes, the best of Australia always brings us together, and what better way to break down the generational divide than over an epic Aussie lamb BBQ – the ultimate unifier!”

Scott Dettrick, creative director at The Monkeys, added: “With growing differences in wealth, opinions, and ways of communication, the generation gap in Australia has never been wider. The various frustrations this year have each generation throwing tropes around, looking for someone to blame. When you scratch beneath the surface though, it’s attitudes, not age, that divide us.

“Maybe if we just got around a lamb BBQ and had a chat, we might find out that grandad is actually pretty cool, or all that stuff millennials know can be really useful. Our entire creative process this year was a fun generational debate, and with multi-generational directors and editors on the films, it was all very method”.

The full-length ad premieres during the evening news of Seven and Nine on 7 January, followed by a rollout across free-to-air and subscription TV nationally.

It will be pushed out across TV, online video, catch-up TV, paid social and retail OOH channels by UM, with One Green Bean driving reach for the campaign across earned media and owned social.

In a first for Australian Lamb, One Green Bean will also amplify the campaign via a social-first content piece launching across owned and influencer marketing channels from 15 January.

The campaign will also be supported through key retail and butcher channel activation and integration.

Credits

Client – Meat & Livestock Australia

• General Manager – Marketing and Insights: Nathan Low
• Domestic Market Manager: Graeme Yardy
• Brand Manager: Derek Lau

Creative Agency – The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song

• The Monkeys Group CEO and Co-Founder & Accenture Song ANZ President: Mark Green
• Managing Director: Matt Michael
• The Monkeys & Accenture Song Growth Markets Chief Creative Officer: Tara Ford
• Creative Director: Scott Dettrick
• Creative Team: Jake Ausburn & Alex Polglase
• Head of Production: Penny Brown
• Senior Producer: Elliot Liebermann
• Production Coordinator: Emily Coleman
• Business Strategy Director: Kit Lansdell
• Head of Business Management: Topher Jones
• Senior Business Manager: Celine Dinant
• Business Executive: Matt Stafford

Production Company: Rabbit

• Directors: Aimée-Lee Xu Hsien & Trent O’Donnell
• MD/Partner/Executive Producer: Alex Hay
• Partner/Executive Producer: Lucas Jenner
• Producer: Morgan Hind
• DOP: Emma Paine
• Production Design: Virginia Mesiti

Casting: Citizen Jane Casting

Post-Production: The Editors

Edit House: The Editors

• Editors: Grace O’Connell & Stu Morley
• Executive Producer: Rita Gagliardi
• Lead Flame Artist: Stu Cadzow
• VFX Supervisor: Andreas Wanda
• Colourist: Greg ‘Elvis’ Constanaras

Music & Sound: MassiveMusic

• Composer: Haydn Walker
• Sound Designer: Simon Kane
• Producer: Katrina Aquilia

Media Agency – UM

• Client Partner: Lauren Thornborough
• Senior Creative Connections Planner: Cayley McArthur
• Senior Planning Manager: Bernadette Banasik
• Senior Partnerships Trader: Joshua Coles
• Trader: Jess Curran

PR and Social Agency – One Green Bean

• Head of Creative Innovation: Hannah Stalder
• Head of Content: Laura Byrne
• Account Director, PR: Molly Dodwell
• Account Director, Social: Amy McCann
• Senior Content Creative: Jack Williams
• Content Creative: Gabi Kearney
• Senior Account Executive: Bridget Patterson