Carlton Draught: Big Ad
Encyclopedia
The "Big Ad" is a television advertisement
for Carlton Draught
pale lager
. It was created by George Patterson and Partners (Young & Rubicam
) of Melbourne
, Australia
. The agency used viral marketing
techniques to promote the advertisement before it was broadcast
on television
. The ad premiered on Australian television on 7 August 2005.
" from Carl Orff
's Carmina Burana
. Viewed from the air, one army forms the shape of Carlton Draught
beer glass and the other forms the shape of a human body. The figure of the glass is then lifted to the mouth of the human figure and the audience sees the "beer"—rushing, ecstatically leaping, yellow-clad soldiers—flowing into the stomach of the large body. The view then zooms into the crowd of soldiers(now all raising their Carlton Draught
beer) to focus on one man's glass. A caption then appears below it saying, "Made from Beer", and the commercial fades out.
The lyrics to the ad are as follows:
Big Ad parodies the visual style of battle sequences in such films as Peter Jackson
's Lord of the Rings
trilogy with sweeping, larger-than-life panoramas of rugged mountain terrain. It is also reminiscent of the grandiose commercials pioneered by the likes of Qantas
and British Airways
.
on the Internet
. Although costly, this streaming permitted higher quality video than other formats, such as MPEG. (Sophocleous and Cubito, 2005, p. 6) Within 24 hours after release, the "Big Ad" had been downloaded 162,000 times (Frilingos, 2005, p. 8). Within two weeks, it had been seen by over one million viewers in 132 countries (Lees, 2005). This campaign was widely covered in the press. The viral release of the "Big Ad" was so successful that the company reduced its television media budget so as not to overexpose the advertisement. (Lee, 2005, p. 29)
in 2006.
Production: Plaza Films
Post- Production: Animal Logic (The Matrix)
To create large (tens of thousands of people) crowds for the ad MASSIVE software with semi-independent AI actors from Weta Digital was used.
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
for Carlton Draught
Carlton Draught
Carlton Draught is a 4.6% pale lager made in Australia by Carlton & United Beverages.-Description:Carlton Draught is a pale lager which is sold on tap in its home state of Victoria as well as in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, and is one of Australia's most...
pale lager
Pale lager
Pale lager is a very pale to golden-coloured beer with a well attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid 19th century when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing techniques back to the Spaten Brewery in Germany and applied it...
. It was created by George Patterson and Partners (Young & Rubicam
Young & Rubicam
Y&R is a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.-History:...
) of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The agency used viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
techniques to promote the advertisement before it was broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. The ad premiered on Australian television on 7 August 2005.
Content
Two armies, one clad in maroon and the other in yellow, charge each other while singing new lyrics to the classic melody of "O FortunaO Fortuna
"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the thirteenth century, part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana. It is a complaint about fate, and Fortuna, a goddess in Roman mythology and personification of luck....
" from Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
's Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
. Viewed from the air, one army forms the shape of Carlton Draught
Carlton Draught
Carlton Draught is a 4.6% pale lager made in Australia by Carlton & United Beverages.-Description:Carlton Draught is a pale lager which is sold on tap in its home state of Victoria as well as in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, and is one of Australia's most...
beer glass and the other forms the shape of a human body. The figure of the glass is then lifted to the mouth of the human figure and the audience sees the "beer"—rushing, ecstatically leaping, yellow-clad soldiers—flowing into the stomach of the large body. The view then zooms into the crowd of soldiers(now all raising their Carlton Draught
Carlton Draught
Carlton Draught is a 4.6% pale lager made in Australia by Carlton & United Beverages.-Description:Carlton Draught is a pale lager which is sold on tap in its home state of Victoria as well as in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, and is one of Australia's most...
beer) to focus on one man's glass. A caption then appears below it saying, "Made from Beer", and the commercial fades out.
The lyrics to the ad are as follows:
Big Ad parodies the visual style of battle sequences in such films as Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
trilogy with sweeping, larger-than-life panoramas of rugged mountain terrain. It is also reminiscent of the grandiose commercials pioneered by the likes of Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
and British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
.
Viral marketing
The company decided to use a viral campaign because of the distracting environment in which television is viewed and the fragmented audiences of traditional media. (Lee, 2005, p. 29) Two weeks prior to being broadcast on television, the advertisement was streamedStreaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Although costly, this streaming permitted higher quality video than other formats, such as MPEG. (Sophocleous and Cubito, 2005, p. 6) Within 24 hours after release, the "Big Ad" had been downloaded 162,000 times (Frilingos, 2005, p. 8). Within two weeks, it had been seen by over one million viewers in 132 countries (Lees, 2005). This campaign was widely covered in the press. The viral release of the "Big Ad" was so successful that the company reduced its television media budget so as not to overexpose the advertisement. (Lee, 2005, p. 29)
Awards
The advertisement has since received over 30 awards globally, including a prestigious Gold Lion award at the 53rd Cannes Lions International Advertising FestivalCannes Lions International Advertising Festival
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
in 2006.
Technical acknowledgements
Agency: George Patterson and Partners, Melbourne- Creative Director: James McGrath
- Art Director: Grant Rutherford
- Writer: Ant Keogh
- Producer: Pip Heming
- Group Communications Director: Paul McMillann
Production: Plaza Films
- Director: Paul Middleditch
- Executive Producer: Peter Masterton
- DOP: Andrew Lesnie (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Post- Production: Animal Logic (The Matrix)
- VFX Supervisor: Andrew Jackson
- Senior Compositor: Angus Wilson
- VFX Producer: Caroline Renshaw
- Editor: Peter Whitmore - Winning Post Productions
- Music: Cezary Skubiszewski
- Location: Queenstown, New Zealand
- Cast: 300 locals (consisted mainly of backpackers)
To create large (tens of thousands of people) crowds for the ad MASSIVE software with semi-independent AI actors from Weta Digital was used.
Other references
- Canning, S. (2005) "Business Big Shot", The Australian: Finance, 23 Jul., p. 34.
- Frilingos, M. (2005) "As big as … a Carlton beer ad", The Daily Telegraph: Local, Jul. 23, pg.8.
- Lee, J. (2005) "Very big ad shows why we still call Carlton a beer", The Sydney Morning Herald: Business, 28 Jul., pg.29.
- Lees, N. (2005) "Big ad hits one millionth viewer", Adnews, 29 Jul.
- Sophocleous, A., and Cubito, A. (2005) "Clients catch the viral bug", Adnews, August 12, 2005, p. 6.