Heaps Normal Reinvents Classic Drinking Songs With Help From Aunty Donna

A new video campaign from Heaps Normal put a spin on iconic Aussie drinking songs like VB’s “A Hard Earned Thirst” and Toohey’s “I Feel Like A Toohey’s” ads, showing regular people in everyday situations embracing their weirdness with a Heaps Normal in-hand.

The independent Australia brewer, fresh off the back of winning the World’s Best non-alcoholic Pale Ale at the World Beer Awards is shaking up the drinking scene in Australia with an expanding range of non-alcoholic beers. The latest effort from the crew looks to upend the traditional blokey drinking song, by focusing on a more contemporary array of Aussie beer drinkers.

Panda Candy – a Western Australian-based sound studio that has previously worked with the WA Government, Lotterywest, Fringe World and Shooting Stars Charity – composed the Heaps Normal track, with lyrics, performance and video direction by Mark Bonanno, a member of comedy group Aunty Donna.

Heaps Normal’s head of brand Peter Brennan said the video is a light-hearted look at the ways we create our own normal in day-to-day life.

“Our mission as a business is to evolve Australian drinking culture beyond the stereotypes we’re all so familiar with. We’re not only providing a great alternative for people looking for a different way to drink, but we’re trying to start conversations about and put a spotlight on what drinking means in 2022. There’s so much more to this music video than just having a laugh,” said Brennan.

“Just like there are no two normals that are the same for people, there are no two beer drinkers who look and act the same. We’ve had loads of fun dreaming up the various characters in this video with the help of our amazing mates at Aunty Donna and Panda Candy and the entire creative team.”

Bonanno explains the scenarios for the video’s characters stemmed from wanting to recognise we’re all just trying to do our best in a world that tries to tell us how we should act.

“The cool thing about working on a creative idea for a brand like Heaps Normal is that there is basically endless scope to play with concepts of ‘normal’. In 2022, nothing feels better than acknowledging the things that make us different, even a little bit…weird. I hope everyone who watches this sees a bit of themselves in the characters – toenail-clipping collector and all,” said Bonanno.

Panda Candy’s co-founder Ian Berney said given beer is one of the most iconic Australian ad genres, it was a no-brainer for them to get involved and try their hand at reinventing the beer jingle.

“Australia has a history of producing beer jingle bangers that become one with the cultural zeitgeist of the time. What excited us so much about Heaps Normal is that they’re a challenger to the norm of Aussie drinking culture – they take a bit of a punk attitude to the whole sobriety thing by not telling anyone what to do. We set about capturing that spirit by bringing lashings of Aussie punk rock to the sound that allowed Mark to do his thing with the lyrics,” said Berney.

The launch of the music video comes less than two months after Heaps Normal launched its Heaps Normal Presents series – a music industry support program that includes monthly gigs taking place across Australia, a rider support program for artists who want to cut back on the booze, and a music ambassador program.

CREDITS

TALENT NAMES:
● Frankie McNair – The Artist
● Kirsty Webek – The Tradie
● Leroy MacQueen – The Home Aloner
● Ben Russell – The Amateur Athlete
● Sashi Perera – The New Parent
● Aurelia St Clair – The Bartender

SUPPORTING CAST
● Alastair Duffield – The Foreman
● Jessica Galea – Customer
● William Bobbie Stewart – Friend
● Szilvia Kaszaniczky – Her dog!

CREW NAMES:
● Mark Bonanno – Writer/Director/Editor
● Jessica Galea – Producer
● Max Miller – Director of Photography
● Wye Keen Wong – 1st Camera Assistant
● Tanya Zerek – 2nd Camera Assistant
● Maddison Haywood – Production Designer
● Elena Lyons-Dawson – Art Director
● Costume Designer – Charlotte Lane
● Gaffer – Alastiar Duffield
● Noah Snell – Best Person
● William Bobbie Stewart – Runner

LOCATIONS
● Penny’s – Nikki Keating
● Gym Retor – Jesse Di Michele
● House – Szilvia Kaszaniczky

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Aunty Donna Heaps Normal