“We spent our whole budget on this billboard”: Three brands taking advertising risks that are paying off

The Australian advertising industry is enjoying a 30-month streak of year-on-year growth as of July, according to the Standard Media Index (SMI), and it’s seeing some weird and wonderful creativity hitting our screens, billboards and more.

The consecutive growth comes amid 2021’s record-smashing media spend in Australia amounting to some $8.6 billion — that’s $323.5 million more than the previous record reported by SMI in 2018, $550.5 million higher than 2020, and $1.6 billion higher than 2020.

Netflix users are begrudgingly anticipating ads to hit the streaming service before the end of the year, and it has reportedly appointed Microsoft as its global advertising partner, which has a strong foothold in the Australian market.

Ads — particularly the loud, everything-must-go types — can get a bad wrap, but they’re not all bad. Here are three campaigns getting Australians talking at the moment.

Australian Wool Innovation’s slick appeal to greenies

Levy-funded research and marketing group Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) launched a new ad campaign that spruiks the eco-friendly fibre as a more desirable alternative to synthenics.

In the ad, people covered head to toe in a slick black coating are swimming in a pool of the same substance at dusk with an eerie backtrack setting the scene.

The people climb out of the pool with each other’s assistance and observe their oily coating before promptly taking it off like an item of clothing.

The on-screen copy reads: “Every 25 minutes an Olympic-sized pool of oil is used to make synthetic clothing. It’s time to change.”

AWI CEO John Roberts says he hoped the message would ring true to people concerned about the environment, particularly as the anti-fast-fashion movement gains serious traction across markets worldwide.

“Everyone’s dead keen about sustainability,” Roberts said.

“And if you want to be true to sustainability you’ve got to look at what sort of clothes you’re wearing and what’s the makeup of those garments.”

Please drink Yorkshire tea, if you wouldn’t mind terribly

Melburnians cruising along the Westgate Freeway near the city’s southern shopping district will see a big bold billboard begging them to drink tea.

British brand Yorkshire Tea’s earnest creative reads: “We spent our whole Australian marketing budget on this billboard, so we’ll just level with you. Please buy Yorkshire Tea. It’s the #1 brew in the UK, so we promise it’s nice.”

The red billboard is on brand for Yorkshire’s tongue-in-cheek tone of voice (for more, check out ‘Where everything’s done proper’) and was created in-house by the tea giant.

Marketing lead Ben Newbury says the brand was excited to make a splash in the Australian market.

“We’re chuffed to unveil this campaign in Melbourne as part of our mission to break the tea trance Down Under,” Newbury said.

“While Yorkshire Tea is the number one tea in the UK, not enough Australians know about us and the quality of our brews, so we hope this billboard makes an impression!”

Yorkshire’s decision to choose a billboard is part of a larger market trend. According to SMI, the month of July outdoor media grew by 28.8%, the highest of any sort of media that month.

Emirates “flatters” Air New Zealand by acting the goose

When Dubai-based airline Emirates launched their latest ‘Fly Better’ campaign, eagle-eyed onlookers would’ve noticed something that would ruffle even the most confident of feathers.

In the ad, the airline’s new CGI brand ambassador Gerry the Goose ditches his airborne migration and takes a seat in the Emirates premium economy cabin.

But it’s birds of a feather to Air New Zealand’s 2016 commercial that features Dave the Goose (voiced by Australian actor Bryan Brown) who also takes a flight instead of flying himself.

So the Kiwi carrier clapped back in releasing the advertising equivalent of a retort on its Twitter account, tweeting “Gerry ya goose, you got the wrong airline!” and tagging Emirates.

Gerry ya goose, you got the wrong airline! 🤦‍♂️ @emirates pic.twitter.com/Kmjt529dLy

— Air New Zealand ✈️ (@FlyAirNZ) September 2, 2022

“You’ll be pleased to know that I finally convinced my old mate Gerry to stop doing his own flying, like me,” Dave says in the new ad.

“The only problem is he got the wrong airline. What are you doing on Emirates, Gerry? It was supposed to be Air New Zealand. You know, the ones with the delicious cuisine, Kiwi hospitality and those clever advertising campaigns.”

But Emirates, not to be outdone, responded by reposting its ad and tweeting: “Don’t wing it, Dave! You definitely want to fly with Emirates for the long haul. And Dubai is a sweet spot for migratory stops. See you here!”

An airline advertising collaboration or a good-faith public rumble between competitors? You be the judge.

Don’t wing it, Dave! You definitely want to fly with Emirates for the long haul. And Dubai is a sweet spot for migratory stops. See you here! @FlyAirNZ pic.twitter.com/XMM0ynpzwZ

— Emirates Airline (@emirates) September 3, 2022