The beer esentials
Not only does Australia have the best beer, we also know how to make a great beer ad, says Resli Buchel
Roy and HG take the undrinkable to the unwashed
There is an art to making a great beer ad, one that Australians have mastered with increasing skill in recent years.
From the days of Paul Hogan sucking back a tinnie of Fosters on the beach through to the recent Flashbeer spoof from Carlton United Breweries, advertisers have refined their formula, combining a good serving of humour, with a dash of ocker and a hint of sex to create 30 seconds of entertaining television.
Dan Beaumont, of advertising agency George Patterson Y&R, agrees: "Like any great beer, a great beer ad needs the perfect combination of ingredients: an original idea that is both funny and compelling, a good budget, a skilled director to make the idea work, and a trusting client who believes in the idea. Without any one of these ingredients, it'll just be another ad that people might not notice or even remember."
He would know. GPYR has been responsible for some iconic beer campaigns for over 40 years. "Our most famous Aussie beer campaigns have easily been VB (‘For A Hard Earned Thirst'), and Carlton Draught (‘Made From Beer')."
The GPYR team is also the creator of the ‘Boonie Doll' and the award-winning ‘Big Ad', part of the ongoing ‘Made From Beer' campaign.The ad features hundreds of men in red and yellow robes marching in formation around a paddock to the strains of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.
Paul McMillan was also part of the ‘Big Ad' team and has since joined Clemenger BBDO to work on the Pure Blonde Campaign, and the latest instalment in the Carlton Draught ‘Made From Beer' series - ‘Skytroop' - which cost a record-breaking $9 million to make and market, raising the bar to an almost unreachable level for other beer advertisers.
"Spending huge amounts on production alone used to be a clever strategy," says the Beaumont, "but unless the content or core idea is compelling, it won't change what people think. Sometimes the smaller budget ads are the ones that stand out - ‘VB Symphony' is an example."
Currently showing on small screens in Australia, the ‘VB Symphony' features an orchestra (of sorts), complete with a conductor in bow tie and tails, who play the famous VB theme tune by tapping and blowing on empty VB bottles. It's clever, it's amusing, and it didn't cost $9 million. After all, isn't this the beer that you drink when you've been "pullin' a plough"?
Not anymore. The current VB campaign has gone - dare we say it - a bit posh. There's no pub, no farm equipment, no barbecue, no bikini-clad blonde, and no beer-swilling yob (Paul Hogan). The domain of Aussie blokes has been redecorated.
There is no question that a great beer commercial needs to appeal to beer drinking men and what beer drinking men like. However, as Beaumont explains, the definition of ‘beer drinking men' has also changed in recent years. They are now more sophisticated, educated, wise to marketing and advertising and interested in worldly things. In fact the new definition of ‘beer drinking men' includes women."
McMillan goes further, suggesting that using stereotyped Aussie larrikins to advertise beer could be counterproductive. "There are times where using this type of imagery is contrary to your objectives - like promoting a premium style beer, or talking to a younger, more urban audience."
So, is this the death knell for the beer drinking men of decades past? Will we never again see the likes of Hoges, Ben Mendelssohn, and Roy and HG selling tinnies of Fosters on TV in Japan and the US? Tragic as it may seem, according to the GPYR ad-man, it's simply a matter of fashion. "Brands need to stay relevant," says Beaumont, "and advertising agencies need to keep pace with consumers."
Pointing out the downfall of brands like Foster's Lager and KB Lager when their advertising becomes passé, McMillan agrees: "As popular culture evolves, brands must move to stay in touch with their audience. There are thousands of cases where this has not happened, and the results have been disastrous."
Luckily for advertisers, the Australian sense of humour never changes. "It's natural to love to laugh and enjoy yourself," says Beaumont, "Beer is also a pretty relaxed and fun product. It should never take itself too seriously. So beer brands portray themselves as irreverent and light-hearted."