LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear CB,

A wry smile crept across my face last night while watching a ‘new’ red rooster spot on TV. There was the whole golden chook, on a plate, being served by mum to a ‘nuclear’ family who where looking on longingly as we cut to the ubiquitous ‘carving’ shot. Mum then had a flash back to ‘the olden days’ with her mum serving up a chook to the family.

As you know, I am a bit of a chook lover with a masters in chookology and couldn’t help seeing the irony in the ad that replicated not only the proposition, that red rooster was a ‘meal replacement’ and gave mum the opportunity to serve the family a good healthy meal just like the old days ( do I hear “traditional values” somewhere in the brief), but also many of the visual images created by Mojo for red rooster over 20 years ago with the much loved commercial “Aussie Sunday”.

I am in no way being critical of the ad, CB’s creative judges can do that if they wish. In fact, I like the ad (what chook lover wouldn’t?). It’s good that red rooster have re-ued the original positioning. It’s smart to get rid of the old ‘Sunday’ connection because we now take our kids to the Feral Brewery in the Swan Valley for Sunday lunch, and it’s not a bad sequel. Although nothing ever beats the original in my biased opinion.

The irony is that we continue to emphasise the importance of strategy and account planners, who must be trained by Unilever or Proctor and Gamble (that’ll help a lot in Perth!) and have clients that have Brand Insight departments, yet the proposition and basic execution for the new red rooster ad was written on the back of a beer coaster in a pub in Paddo by Mo and Jo 20 years ago.

Maybe we are going the full circle – again. Vaughan (Sutherland, ex CD of Mojo Perth) wherever you are, dust off the Fender Strat and put the spurs back on the boots, maybe we could breathe some life back into Emu export with “ I could do with an Emu how about you”, I’m sure ‘mateship in the mines’ is still a worthy proposition.

Perhaps we could stop the ongoing debates within Tourism and bring back “Say G’day to WA’. I’m not joking. Mojo did it successfully in the late eighties with ‘Happy little vegimites’ and ‘louie the fly’ (neither were their original creations but they made millions by bringing them back) Come on Vaughan, there could be a nice little earner in this mate!

Going back to red rooster, shock horror, what’s this I see, a traditional stereotypical mum serving up dinner to the kids! What are you thinking!  What about the physically disadvantaged single dad who has to look after the kids from two separate marriages, while his de facto partner, of unknown gender, is out working. How on earth did you get this through sexual discrimination, politically correct police at CAD. Will generation X and Y have a clue what your going on about? I didn’t see a dad in the spot. I can only hope he’s off camera watching the footy on a 50 inch plasma with an Emu export in his hand waiting for the ‘little lady’ to call him when dinners ready.  (Don’t you just love the old days).

Well done Renee and the team at 303, you’ve kept the spot true to its original intentions. All the spot needs is the line “Australia your chicken is ready” and change the end graphic to “gotta be red red ready” and if Mo and Jo could see it I’m sure they’d say “You ought to be congratulated”.

Simon Furzer

Courtney Media and Marketing