Ardmona challenges Aussies to #buyhomegrown tomatoes in new work via Leo Burnett, Melbourne
Ardmona and Leo Burnett Melbourne are giving more meaning to a song we’ve heard a thousand times before, yet probably don’t even remember the words to – the Australian National Anthem.
They’ve produced a heartfelt film featuring Aussie tomato growers and their families that modernises Advance Australia Fair, giving the words renewed relevance. It uses the lyrics poignantly to highlight the superb quality of our home-grown produce and encourage shoppers to be more patriotic at the shelf by choosing home-grown tomatoes over cheaper imports.
Says Jason Williams, chief creative officer, Leo Burnett Melbourne: “As consumers, we’re a lot more powerful than we think. The decisions we make at the supermarket shelf can have a profound effect on products and, in this case, the lives of the families who produce them. We want to ignite patriotism in consumers so they think twice next time they’re at the shelf.”
The campaign comes at a time when the quality and integrity of imported produce has been seriously called into question. Reports have shown that the gross exploitation of migrant workers is still rife in the Italian tomato industry and just recently, Ardmona won its anti-dumping case against 105 Italian producers, which proved they had been illegally dumping excess product in Australia, undercutting Ardmona on price.
Says Mark Connolly, GM marketing and innovation, Ardmona: “In light of recent events, we set out to highlight our Australian provenance in a provocative way and we think the commercial definitely achieves that. It also reflects SPC’s end-to-end, paddock-to-plate investment and commitment to Australian tomatoes – from partnering with our fantastic, dedicated growers, to investing in a new state-of-the-art tomato processing plant at our Shepparton factory.”
Filmed in and around Rochester, in Victoria’s “Fruit Bowl,” the launch follows Leo Burnett’s hugely successful #MyFamilyCan campaign, which saw SPC and Ardmona cans re-labelled to feature Aussie farmers and their families. The commercial will be integrated into home-grown content and supported by PR and social media, which has already generated a significant amount of passionate conversation from patriotic Australians.
Agency: Leo Burnett Melbourne
Chief Creative Officer: Jason Williams
Creative Director: Michelle Walsh
Senior Art Director: Mike Fritz
Chief Executive Officer: Melinda Geertz
Group Account Director: Ari Sztal
Account Manager: Kenneth Chow
Producer: Cinnamon Darvall
Director of Integrated Strategy: Ilona Janashvili
Strategy Planner: Emily Gould
Head of Social: Chris Steele
Associate Digital CD: Tim Shelley
Production Company: Studio Pancho
Director: Lizzy Bailey
Producer: Francesca D’Orazio
DOP: Aaron Farrugia
Editor: Chris Ward
Sound: Sound Lounge
Client: SPC Ardmona
GM Marketing & Innovation: Mark Connolly
Head of Brand Marketing: Anand Surujpal
Media Agency: Slingshot
29 Comments
Lovely ad with a strong message. Should resonate well with the public.
This will do well with the Aussie strong and proud people.
Nice work.
Surprised it hasn’t been done before (has it?) as it works beautifully to put pure emotion into a category as boring as tinned tomatoes.
This is rubbish, the pictures are vanilla and formulate and don’t match the words.
Leo’s have hit rock bottom with this one.
#snore
This TV spot is so worthy it hurts.
Is it even ok to use the national anthem to advertise your product? Doesn’t seem right to me!
I hate this advert. Such a whiny voice.
Every time I hear this ad I cringe. The advance Australian tea speaker is wining. It sounds disgusting and I have to cover my ears.
This add sounds like a funeral service…please change it as l am constantly changeing channels..Advance Australia Fair is great. .
Great message, but dreadful delivery. Whinging/whiney voice and why is she talking about Australia’s “gifs”? I turn off or fast-forward through the ad every time.
The ad is so depressing I guess it is for Ardmona’s funeral!
check out the Barossa advert done about three years ago – plenty of similarities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtFqMMjMSMc
That really tugs on the old heartburn strings. Especially since Ardmona is owned by Coca Coala Amatil. Advance Advertising Fair!
I hate the add and I also hate the Australian National Anthem.
I don’t like the voice – it’s so terribly irritating and whiny. Love the concept (I like buying aus made products) but the only thing this ad has done is make me mute the TV as soon as it comes on.
This is truly an awful ad. I also reach for the mute button to get rid of that whiny, funereal voice. The products on the shelf also look “home brand”. Very unimpressive work!
I thought at first it was an ad to promote reaching out for help when in crisis with mental health issues. the tone of the girls voice, sounds worried and strained to me.
I really thought first time iheard it it was about depression. A cheerful passionate voice over would have worked better for me.
Offensive. What an arrogant & manipulative piece of self-important propaganda. From the solemn, melodramatic voice of a teenage girl uttering irrelevant lines with the seriousness of a war remembrance eulogy this is nonsense of the most serious kind. SPC F&%K your produce. I will remember.
That cotton wool voice with all the emphases in the wrong places is just annoying.
Volume offl when the ad appoiaches.
Elmo version of national anthem, cringe worthy but does it’s work as an add because the family talk about it unfortunately how bad it is . Thank god for the mute button.
NO ! This is OUR National Anthem not Admona’s you have no right to coswmmercialise our National Anthem
This is appalling sickly-sentimental exploitation of the Australian National Anthem. Its use is illegal for commercial use except with permission, so I assume that some bureaucracy has permitted this. Whether you like the anthem or not, it IS our National Anthem and this is just disgusting.
This ad is depressing and sounds like a soundtrack to footage from a warzone. Every time it is on we scramble to change the channel. It is giving a negative feel to a positive anthem.
Nauseating advert with that cloying cutesie whispery voice- it comes on and I switch channels – please get rid of it ☹️
I’m another person who can’t stand the girls’ voice! Please use a voice that is bright,positive,and enthusiastic… after all,the message is great….the delivery is terrible! Give the message it’s best platform!
The voice over on this commercial is so bad I just googled to find out who made it. I will mute this commercial every time it is on. I can’t wait til this campaign ends.
That whiney , whispery voice is enough to put me off ever buying that product – it is not pleasant having our beautiful anthem ruined by that ghastly rendition – please get rid of it 😬
I had to google this ad to find out who made it.I find it SO annoying,the voice is feeble and pathetic. I will always buy Australian made when possible but this ad makes me NOT want to buy Ardmona!