Well, you saw it here first. MG’s new ads will air on TV from tonight but they’re already up on its Devondale website.
I can’t help but wonder if this ad is a direct consequence of the much-despised Dev and Dale commercials that presented the co-op’s own farmer-shareholders as bogans. The deeply unpopular ads set MG directors’ phones alight and were pulled early in response.
Watching it reminds me of Dairy Australia’s own embryonic Legendairy campaign and even the Dodge “God Made a Farmer” Super Bowl ad that unashamedly pandered to a despairing target audience in desperate need of some moral support.
What do you think? Will this ad sell more Devondale cheese, milk and butter? Is it just too cynical of me to suggest that perhaps I and my fellow dairy farmers are the real targets? Or maybe it’s not me they have in mind but the NSW suppliers MG needs to woo in order to meet its Sydney Coles contract.
While you’re having a think about it, check out another new Devondale product ad!
As we speak, Dairy Australia is touring the country rolling out the farmer side of the Legendairy campaign. Consumers will see it from late winter, when it hits magazines, radio, TV, supermarkets and bus stops around August.
The campaign is designed to build bridges between farmers and consumers, encouraging trust and an increase in claimed dairy consumption.
My question is this: how much would you personally spend on an industry branding exercise? And if you’re not a farmer, how much would you pay for a campaign aimed at portraying your trade or profession as “good guys”? Be honest, since there’s no way I (or anyone else) can see which way you vote.
There’s little doubt Australian dairy farmers are feeling a little demoralised and that’s not good for business. The first symptom displayed by farmers lacking confidence is a stubborn refusal to open their cheque books.
And here we are, hunkered down in survival mode, deaf to our leaders’ calls to invest and grow so that Australia can realise its dream of becoming a vital piece of the Asian food bowl.
With all this in mind, then, take a look at the “farmer-side” launch of the new Dairy Australia campaign, Legendairy.
Ad agency, CumminsRoss is to be congratulated for the stirring execution.
In a media release, DA project leader Isabel MacNeill, says Legendairy is “not just a branding exercise” but a singular rallying point that will help develop pride among dairy people, and increase community appreciation for the industry and demand for its products.
The Legendairy platform will be translated into an initial three-year integrated marketing and communication plan focusing on three core audiences:
• Farmers and farm communities
• Consumers, especially parents of young children
• Societal shapers such as policy makers, authorities and health professionals.
According to MacNeill, it’s all about the dairy community telling its own stories about what makes us legendary.
After sleeping on it, I’m guessing Legendairy will polarise farmers. One camp will say, “Yeah, it’s great to get a pat on the back” and the other camp will say “Don’t spend my levy on expensive ads telling me how great I should feel while I’m struggling to pay the bills”.
I must admit I have a foot in each camp. When you’re going through a rough patch, the last thing you want is a pat on the head and this strays dangerously close to that. I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes next.
EDIT: As I walked away from the computer after writing this post, one BIG thing occurred to me: What does DA want out of the farmer-side campaign and how will it be measured? Fewer exits from the industry, greater farmer investment? Lower depression rates among farmers? Sadly, no, I suspect not because no mere communications strategy could realistically hold such worthy objectives. Not now, in any case. Perhaps it would be better timed to build confidence when the tide has truly begun to turn.
The Milk Maid Marian 