Diversity has been an explicit theme of more progressive advertising for some time. But this ad takes it to a new level—featuring a parade of Australians from different religions and cultures, and with various physical looks and abilities, all to sell, oddly enough, Australian lamb.
"What's the best thing about diversity? Everything!" says the client, Meat & Livestock Australia. "So let's all unite with the meat that doesn't discriminate—lamb." The hashtag is #unitedwelamb.
That product connection is pretty dumb, and the spot itself borders on parody of the very ideas of acceptance that it's promoting. And yet it works, mostly because of the entertaining way it's presented—and because of the involvement of so many well-known Australians.
The inclusive cast includes actor Indian Australian Arka Das (who narrates most of it) to transgender comedian Jordan Raskopoulos to Indigenous model Samantha Harris and indigenous athletes Cathy Freeman and Greg Inglis. There's also a woman using sign language, two gay dads, several disabled people, a little person and more.
There's even a diverse range of white people—not just, in the ad's estimation, the "perky white males [who] are contributing to a lack of diversity on our screens."
Freeman and Inglis appear near the beginning, and again at the very end, and are involved in the sign-off punch line. Das offers a lamb chop to whoever was there first. To which Freeman and Inglis reply: "That would be us."
The involvement of Freeman and Inglis is particularly notable, given that Meat & Livestock Australia's previous campaign, around Australia Day, came under fire for being culturally insensitive to indigenous people.
The only people who appear to be absent from this giant love fest? Vegetarians. But then again, this client has never been too fond of them anyway.
Both campaigns were made by ad agency The Monkeys in Sydney.
CREDITS
Client: Meat & Livestock Australia
Agency: The Monkeys, Sydney