VRC shows the wild heart of the Melbourne Cup in latest campaign via McCann Melbourne
The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) has brought to life the wild and wonderful heart of the Melbourne Cup Carnival in a superbly nostalgic and theatrical campaign developed by McCann Melbourne and produced by \\Thirteen & Co.
Titled ‘The World Can Wait’, the campaign contrasts the beautiful, eclectic and often outrageous spectacle of people heading to the races against the monotonous grey of the everyday.
The VRC’s message to Australians: become one of the wild and wonderful Melbourne Cup Carnival crowd and leave the everyday washing, work, shopping and stress behind.
Creatively directed by Nicole Mandile, McCann Melbourne and directed by Pete Moore, \\Thirteen & Co, the 60-second TVC shows Melbourne streets transformed into an energetic and vibrant “delirum of colour” with the infectious energy of racegoers taking the viewer on an enviable emotional journey.
The piece was shot to the track ‘Do you know the way to San Jose’ by Dionne Warwick.
Says Caroline Ralphsmith, executive general manager customer engagement, VRC: “McCann Melbourne has perfectly captured the colour and beauty of the Melbourne Cup Carnival on the streets of our wonderful city.
“We want people to shed their everyday wear and dress up for the day at Flemington, to embrace the fun and frivolity of the Carnival. As the campaign tagline says, the world can wait!”
Says Mandile: “More than any other moment in the year, the Melbourne Cup Carnival is a chance to leave humdrum behind. Where else could you wear a giant orchid on your head and it be totally normal? But really, at its heart, Cup Week is about getting your friends together, dressing up, and just having fun. And this year’s campaign is simply a stunning reflection of just that.”
Client: Victoria Racing Club
Caroline Ralphsmith – Executive General Manager
Customer Engagement Jo King – Head of Brand, Marketing and Customer Experience
Chloe Alsop – Senior Manager, Marketing, Brand & Acquisition
Creative Agency: McCann Melbourne
Creative Director: Nicole Mandile
Creative Team: Tessa Midgley & Nicole Mandile
Lead Designer: Caity Maloney
TV producer: Anne Comber
Account Director: Jacquelyn Whelan
Account Manager: Angela Lethbridge
Retoucher: Ross Goddard
Finished Artist: Chris Vrieze
Finished Artist: Darren Magnan
Production Company: //Thirteen & Co
Director: Pete Moore
Producer: Belinda Dean
Executive Producer: Roy De Giorgio
DOP: Stefan Duscio
Editor: Joe Morris
Colourist: Martin Greer
Online Editor Chris Betteridge
Post Company: The Butchery / The Refinery
Photographer: Georges Antoni Audio: Bang Bang
21 Comments
If this was a horse you’d have to put it down.
Nice work Nic & Gang.
what is Nicole’s score on this?Surely less than 7 out of ten!
Diversity – check
Shit jokes – check
Lack of idea – check
cant fault the print, the spot looks like it was shot on a 5d
This stinks.
Horse poop
…and it was all yellow.
clearly intentional to make the ooh yellow tinted… but why? Unless its meant to be referencing the twilight hour when everyone makes there way back from the races half plastered.
Great spot
Why this track? What’s it got to do with the Melbourne Cup Carnival? Maybe it is a warning for those not interested in horse racing to get out of town? Am I missing something – is San Jose some sort of code that I know nothing about?
55 seconds too long.
This would’ve been so awesome if they kept the song and showed the girls going around pushing police officers over. Then they all carried their heels home eating whoppers and vomiting in an Uber.
Gets “it”
A new, new era of checking what’s in the release pipeline before grandstanding the creative credentials is probably on the horizon for McCann. I give this campaign a flipped Coca Cola logo outta 10.
7/10
This is woeful, you guys should be ashamed.
Pretty poor job all round.
If you’re not going to have an idea, make it look good. If you’re not going to make it look good or put an idea in it, don’t PR it.
It’s just simply stunning!
Anyone who’s been to the VRC knows that no one cares about the races. It’s all about dressing up, drinking champagne and have a good time – which this spot obviously captures.
Well thought, great consumer insights and beautifully crafted!
U go girls!
Erica
I’ve been a VRC member for a long time and have been attending the Spring Racing Carnival for more than thirty years. I’ve witnessed the popularity of the event explode and numbers of spectators grow year-on-year.
I feel as member, this campaign is a slap in the face the the racing fraternity.
The countless months of preparation by the trainers, strappers, owners, jockeys and the actual stars of the event – the horses don’t seem to warrant a mention. It seems the races is now about a bunch of young models swanning around the city half-cut after being booted from the Nursery.
Sorry Nic – I give this a 1/10.
I love this – actually looked it up because I was curious who made it. The tip-toeing through the grass, the dancing with strangers on the train, the hipster on a bike in a suit. They set out to make the races look fashionable/exciting and they nailed it. That fuschia dress is stunning, not your classic safe race wear. It gets me excited to dress up and attend (and I have had some dud times at Flemington!)
Hardly deserving of so much negativity. Nicely captures the Spring Racing spirit.