AFL signs AC/DC for in-house created ‘Australia’s Game’ campaign featuring ‘a long way to the top’
The AFL has pulled off a massive coup by signing legendary rock band AC/DC to be part of its Australia’s Game campaign.
The League’s new commercial, created in-house – not via new agency GPY&R Melbourne as reported by the other trade press – which launches today, features AC/DC’s rock anthem It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll).
Is AC/DC an inspired signing by the AFL? VOTE HERE
“The Australia’s Game campaign celebrates the AFL’s coming of age as an 18-team national competition with the arrival of the Greater Western Sydney Giants,” AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said. “It aspires to reflect the diverse and inclusive nature of Australian football.”
The Australia’s Game campaign was shot over numerous locations – from Brisbane to Gisborne, Breakfast Point to Gold Coast Beach, Bronte to Clifton Hill and beyond – and supports AFL matches being played in every state and territory over the course of the 2012 season.
The campaign aims to tell the story of the whole game: from grassroots competitions to the MCG on Grand Final day.
Music producer Michael Gudinski said: “It’s only fitting that Australia’s greatest game has adopted the world famous rock anthem It’s a long way to the top from Australia’s most successful rock band of all time.
“It’s a great tribute to the late Bon Scott and a fantastic coup for the AFL to get such acknowledgement as this is the first time the band have linked themselves with an Australian sport.”
AFL’s general manager of strategy and marketing, Andrew Catterall, said: “Australian football belongs to those who play or support it with passion each week across every state and territory.
“The AFL is this country’s only indigenous sporting code. It is played across the entire country, whether that’s at the elite level or from the grassroots up, and so it is fitting that we now have a home grown Australian anthem as a part of our great game.
“This campaign reflects the fact that Australian football touches every corner of the country and reaches out to people across all walks of life.”
AFL fans can expect to hear AC/DC’s anthem played before matches during the 2012 season.
The League recently launched club-based advertising campaigns in New South Wales and Queensland.
It will officially launch the premiership season in Sydney on March 22.
34 Comments
The graphics are terrible and it looks very cheap.
Its a long way from the top…its scraped from the bottom of the barrel.
Poo
Shame it appears to have eaten into the production budget so severely that there’s little left to make an ad. A frustrating thing to watch. Will go tear my eyeballs out now and put them in a jar.
Yes, absolutely inspired and absolutely wasted. A great anthem supported by a pastiche of cliches, tired highlights and more lip service than a $20 hooker. Target market? Anything it can vacuum up. It tries to be everything to everybody – indignenous, asian, anglo-saxon, mediterranean – one for the girls, one for the boys, one for the local footy hacks, one for the loungechair lizards, one for the corporates, one for the mums – oh, and one for the traditionalists who still enjoy a hard bump now and again – except, you may recall head high contact is verboten – but WTF let’s use it as an attention grabber anyway.
Apologies, I’ve been disenchanted with the AFL for a number of years (yeah, I know, I hide it well) but this advertisement only served to remind me of how manipulative and machiavellian the AFL has become in its quest to grow market share. Maybe I should just grow up. It’s a business after all.
A great example of what happens when a client thinks they know more than there agency.
Wow, from the fantastically produced ‘League of it’s own’ spot by Steve Rogers last year, to this in one go!
Must be some really impressive new marketers at AFL.
Maybe they should have kept some of the GWS cash for advertising…
Very uninspiring, NRL will be smiling…
Great post A D Denizen
Don’t worry GPY&R team, the industry knows this is not something GPY&R would ever make. All your stuff for AFL is first class, as far back as the one with Bill Hunter.
We can only hope AFL will learn from this missed opportunity.
AFL take note- The best clients trust the best agencies, who in turn make the best work for them, which becomes famous, which in turn makes the marketing director a star, who in turn gets an even bigger job, on even bigger wedge. These are the basic laws of the game.
Obviuos = OBVIOUS
There = THEIR
Being smug and effusive really doesn’t work if you can’t spell.
Does not play on mobile
looks, smells, sounds and feels like the usual annual NRL ad campaign. The worst effort by the AFL for many a year.
Please note: I am not an embittered agency type because they took it in-house…just sad that I am an avid AFL fan living in Sydney and this just reeks of Rugby League.
looks, smells, sounds and feels like the usual annual NRL ad campaign. The worst effort by the AFL for many a year.
Please note: I am not an embittered agency type because they took it in-house…just sad that I am an avid AFL fan living in Sydney and this just reeks of Rugby League.
What a load of crap. Sad when a client forgets what an agency does for them.
AFL should take a good look at their marketing team after this.
It is a great example of what happens when you have an agency who have proven they can make great work, and you choose not to trust them.
Wow, that’s a new low.
Soccer and Rugby just got a massive free kick!
Didn’t need an agency for this.
But it’s a long way from Meatloafs fucking awful performance last year.
Google it – the afl keep trying to take it down… comedy at its worst.
Hey Andrew,
check out what I can do using iMovie! And the software’s free! Wow, this apple laptop is totally paying for itself right now ‘cos we own all this footage and I’ll just put some track from my iTunes on top of it and dude, we’re gold. And they said my Marketing Degree was a waste of money.
I feel sorry for the agency having to deal with this bunch of marketing fools.
I haven’t even watched it yet and I hate it.
Yep. that’s s stinker!
AFL used to be so much classier than Rugby with their advertising.
Now they are seem to think their fans are as basic and bogan as Rugby fans.
As a long standing AFL fan, I’m disappointed my sport now has no differentiation from League.
I love AC/DC too. Just a factual correction, i used them for AFL first, in the one hd network launch promo.
Lame and gay.
Feels more like an internal sales video.
A new campaign for the AFL with an idea? i’d like to see that.
The AFL obviously don’t rate their agency as much as everyone else on this blog. Russel should be worried and doing some major ass kissing right now.
For what it’s worth, I think this ad looks like an offline. But in saying that, it’s an edit job (that wasn’t done well), but probably didn’t need an agency to use a sync track and put some existing footage to it.
It’s Australia’s shame
First the first time in my life, I finally appreciate what an agency actually does.
Thanks, you make us look even more brilliant
Here’s the other videos – yikes…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol4OLW04n_c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60LGSzYmThE
Al least Patts had the back bone not be involved. Only good thing about this pile of poo.
Well, thats all the proof I need. Marketing people are officially out of control.
Thanks for the guernsey.