Navy launches brand blitz via GPY&R, Melbourne
March 25 2010, 5:39 pm | | 120 Comments
This weekend the Royal Australian Navy launches its new brand campaign via George Patterson Y&R Melbourne.
A frigate, a transport and a submarine were shot on location by top photographer Andreas Smetana at HMAS Albatross using hundreds of men and women who crew these vessels. It will run nationally in newspaper, magazine, outdoor and an interactive website.
ECD – Ben Coulson
Art Director – Chris Northam
Copywriter – Simon Bagnasco
Photographer – Andreas Smetana
Retoucher – Electric Art
Account Director – Julian Bell
Account Manager – Rebecca Williamson
120 Comments
Awesome. Well done. A very simple and eye-catching way to bring the idea to life.
Nice one.
Awesome seamen shots.
No, seriously, very good.
Nice executions, but I’m not sure if they’ll make people want to join the Navy… It may make arty farty advertising folk feel good about the Navy though (if they don’t already)… But was that the purpose of the campaign? I’m off to join a theatre/dance troupe right now… Where I’ll get myself ship shape!
Love it, well done.
They look rad even at lowres. Thumbs up if they look as good all shiny and big.
Lynchy can you post the high res versions?
Really bloody good.
Beautiful expensive print for a big and real client, not a toy truck, binoculars or the local condom shop.
Nice to know it is still possible. I was loosing faith that print was anything more than a scamtastic medium.
Been a long time since the Defence anywhere have been first class. Probably the UK army stuff 5 years ago.
This stuff is impressive.
Great idea, Beautiful execution.
nice work boys. Great shots.
Tom
Awesome way to bring a tag line to life.
Fresh idea and well executed.
Jealous!
I like these a lot. Big idea, big client, big execution.
I saw them high res on Ads of he world. Going well with the o/s punter.
Could be some more tin on it’s way at Cannes for Patts?
There’s the first big print campaign for the year, sadly not mine. Bastards!
Best Navy recruitment idea since the Village People!
Chris and Simon. I didn’t like you Sensibles stuff. I do like this…a lot.
Lovely idea guys, great visuals and shot really well.
Jules
That’s cool!
Quality print. Even better if that’s real navy people and not extras.
Good old fashion print done well.
Nice work Smetana.
http://www.adsneeze.com/media/2007/07/cruise-ship.jpg
Superb timing. Tres bien.
Nice work. The photography is fantastic.
Lovely stuff.
A classic example of firt comment coming from the agency. And also a classic
example of the same idea done three times. That’s not a campaign in my book..
Landrover Uk Rainey Campbell blah blah…/Y&R Nicely done though.
bloody simple. me likee
Not so sure to be honest. It just says ships and comrades. I’d kind of expect that if I joined the Navy.
Exactly the same idea as the ‘We’re with Woolwich’ Building Society ads that came out of the U.K….famous campaign that built all sort of objects…..houses,bridges etc out of people. Exactly the same,not just similar….sorry guys, but your boat has just been scuppered.
I hate having to be complimentary on this blog, but these are pretty darn good. Best print of the year so far and an award show contender for sure.
Good work soldiers.
Best Navy stuff in a long time.
Well done.
Well done Chris!!
I don’t give a flying fish finger about the agency or the team that came up with this shit, but it’s nice. I frigging like it. Well done. And Smettana is a wonderful photographer. Peace and positivity to all involved.
Yeah, nice campaign. Congrats to all involved.
Nice one boys. Art direction is a little similar to the Tide stuff from NYC a few years back, but a great insight and a good campaign.
Wish I could get simple stuff up like this, I’m sure they’re not an easy client.
I love this!! I wish i would have done it.
Smetana+Electric Art= Awesomeness
You guys should really stop the hating man. I like to slam a bad ad like anyone else but fuck me, this is good. Who cares if it looks like tide, At least this one is more relevant. Geez!
Not sold this time by the jealous bloggers who always try to reference some other campaign from back in the day. We live in the global internet age, their is always a campaign somewhere that has used a similar technique. It doesn’t automatically scuttle an idea.
This one comes from a simple confident idea. It also comes straight from the tag line used by the Australian Navy for years. So it’s a perfect visual example of their proposition. It’s very good print work for a one of Australia’s biggest and probably hardest clients.
I don’t care whether these win ad trophies or not, but they are evidence that even in tough old Melbourne where the clients are mean, world class work can be made for real clients.
Let try and do more work like this, it make our industry better.
Fark’n good!!!
Tide work was a one of Saatchi’s famous scam campaigns. This has a better idea and is very real.
Beautifully done, from idea to finished work. Would have even taken some good suiting to get this one up. Well done to ALL involved.
I like em!
A different take on the love boat. Fun times aboard.
Can we see them higher res please??
Best ad has them high res. They look rad!
Guys, print is awesome. Can you post the web site? If you can scroll in and see the each person up close and find out about their jobs, it will be ace!
It’s big, confident work done for the government. I reckon Patts deserve any metal they get.
They look nice and they will win awards.
But they lack any insight into why people join the navy. The sea, the adventure and the awesomeness of shooting big fucking guns!
Oh well, maybe the navy will get some recruits from award school. Probably a better career than advertising.
Top Shelf!
Feels like big shiny metal. Maybe gold, easily silver.
Nice work boys. As someone who used to work on this account I know that wouldn’t be such an easy sell.
Ant.K. (A.K.A. ‘Banned’)
Mostly positive comments, I feel some censorship going on. This is the same ad repeated 3 times. That’s not a campaign.
Nice one Northo
Hey Ant, why did you get banned??
I like your blog about the Carlton blog. I wish more ECD’s did it with their name on it.
Respect.
Navy. Team working together, achieving a common objective.
For me, Strategy is solid.
Executions are terrific. Not many good government ads out their!
These are great . A lovely way to communicate both camaraderie and expertise, which for me are really appealing parts of the Navy. Extra kudos for degree of difficulty, given the client.
Well done Big Dog and Baggers
Robbie B
They’re very good.
And I think the TV work shows more than enough guns and adventure, David James Smith. And has done for year after year after year. Not every media channel has to deliver the exact same message; especially for a brand as big as this one.
Quality work.
I must be way out of touch or missing something here? Why all the gushing praise?
Yeah, they’re o.k.
A bunch of sailors making up the shape of a ship? Ummmm, yep.
Let’s imagine these ads were on TV, a bunch of sailors making up the shape of a ship? Yep, very average. My point is, just cos they’re print (and no creative directors seemed to give a shit about print anymore) doesn’t mean they’re great. Is the idea any good? Or are we just overindulging in Smetana love?
Degree of difficultly? Well, everyone seems terribly confident they’re a tough client, so kudos there I suppose.
If this is “the first big print campaign for the year” we really need to try harder.
And if i see these ads (without any URL, phone number or copy) actually run in this state, I’ll be mighty surprised.
I’m impressed.
Clearly, this isn’t the be all and end of the campaign – as others have said, it will take more than a few very clever visual ideas to encourage people to join the navy – but it will certainly catch the eye and that’s the first step towards all the other things.
It’s also a good reminder to the public that our armed forces aren’t just big bits of equipment, but real people.
These ads look great, but really, would this make people want to join the Navy?
The only people you will recruit from these ads are blokes who really like to get close with other blokes.
I guess there is some truth in the submarine one, that’s probably how cramped it will be.
There seem to be a lot of comments here from patts. To me this campaign isn’t at all fresh. It borrows from that adidas stuff with all the people forming diving boards and stuff and from the Tide campaign from saatchi new york. Art direction does too. It’s a bit of a meh.
Join the navy and you’ll be on a boat with loads of blokes….Ooooooooooh.
Beautifully produced but a remake of the Halifax Building society work from the UK.
LOL yeah – [b]Ant
I don’t know if the idea of teamwork is the most compelling thought for joining up. I’m sure it was researched to death and, therefore probably is. Nice executions.
I’ve never seen such a large amount of seamen!
These look good but, sadly, the idea is nothing new – and it’s the same execution three times.
As for awards, it’s already won quite a few – for The Halifax Building Society. It was a big long-running TV, outdoor and print campaign.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eETSbYYVDsk
A hundred says the submarine girl gets there first.
Well crafted. Props.
But…
I’m just totally over the conglomeration of peeps to create something ‘together’.
It’s done TO DEATH.
Big Ad – Ice Tea – Guiness – PSP – Subaru – Volkswagen and now NAVY.
Let it go. It’s like everyone thinks to make an ad these days you need lots of people.
Oh yeah! Nice one guys.
rom
Where’s the tug boat ad and the mine sweeper ad and the aircraft carrier ad and the
fast patrol boat ad and the ….
Same ad repeated over and over again. Not a campaign.
Once again here’s Adland talking to itself rather than appealing directly to the
feisty young lesbian who has just missed out on the police force somewhere.
Not buying the negative comments. It really good. I’m not so screwed up to admit it.
I’m with 12:15…
Can we stop doing executions with lots and lots of PEOPLE: ships, bridges, planes, trains and automobiles? People with graphics above their heads. Masses of naked people crouched in foetal positions in urban landscapes. Large groups of people earnestly making really big piles of things to represent something people want. Or piles of people scrambling over each other to get to the prize at the top of the people pile. Carefully choreographed gentle giants, winking giants, prehistoric beer-drinking giants made out of people to send up flags, logos and airline stuff made out of other people. Enough, People!
Great job Chris!
Top work lads.
i would love to see a tv/cinema iteration of these — potential to be quite stunning.
That Halifax ad? Really? Wha?
That predates the internet and potentially the creative teams birth. It’s unfortunate they’re similar, but surely that’s a little picky?
Nice ad. Well done.
Why all the hate? These ads are good. So what if other ads have used people before.
In these, the visual perfectly articulates the message.
I work for another agency= It’s been done before!
I work for the agency= It’s original!
Nothings changed on this blog!
What’s all the fuss. SImple, visually striking and a real client! Good job.
I’m lost on this, been done before call.
It comes up on just about every blog these days. I guess that’s the instant global world, but it is a weird hanging judge for us all.
If it is the rule, why did Tide win so much GOLD when the English bank thing was done first?
Why is this one different?
The done before call is just too difficult and subjective to sift though these days.
I’m going to say I just like these on their own merit.
Done before as TV and Print Ads.
HALIFAX Building Society UK in the 80’s.
Next…..
Awesome ads!
I like it but like you guys I’m an ad wanker.
Luerzer-ish eye candy.
More concerned with being visually literal than genuinely persuasive.
halifax building society….exactly the same….EXACTLY.
SORRY BUT THAT MEANS NO DEAL.
look if an ad had been done before it is a DEAD AD…it is a no no!!!!
who is commenting on an ad and then when they discover it has been done before still support it.
ITS BEEN DONE .
IT’S BEEN DONE.
DONE.IT HAS BEEN.
BEEN DONE.
DONE.
Now that’s the end of it.
p.s. to the person who thinks its an award contender….har de har ha….you make me laugh…get out of your nappies.
i have noticed when Yand R have an ad up there are sooooooo many positive comments….and when Clems do so many negatives.
is it corporate policy to blog there now.
suspicious….definitely.
DONE NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU PRAISE IT.
BEEN DONE= DEAD NOT D&AD.
I’m sorry, I mean i like this work.. but 85 comments… are you fucking serious? It’s just a print campaign. Time to end.. counting 1…2…3..Now.
Lovely idea. beautifully executed. Will win awards. Will not persuade one person to join the navy.
I actually find them kid of dumb.
team works….yeah…and..?
Will make the creative team famous.
But will pass like a ship in the night.
To quote an old advertising fart.
While we’re on the subject of ideas nicked from other campaigns, Google the line “Navy the team works”. Seems GPYR may have looked at the UK Navy work of 10 years ago for inspiration.
Hang on. Same agency – Burst got gold and was the same technique as a Youtube clip, seriously similar to Sony Balls (and every Fallon Sony ad) and used water bombs like the Frank Budgen Xbox ad. And we’re comparing this to a car ad with six african tribesman, a detergent scam and an ad created in the early 80s? Wow!
Print work that gets this many comments is either terrible or damn good. It must be doing something right to get so many people worked up.
Navy have used ‘the team works’ for years in oz, this just happens to be the best representation of the line that I’ve seen them create.
Nice one, Chris. Looks really good. ‘Course you’re in good hands with Andreas!
Cheers,
Jim
5.45 is very amusing.
If any idea has been done before, that’s the end of all discussion. Really?
Tell you what, find me one thing that has never been done before. One thing. if you think you can find one, then you’re probably very, very young. Or very, very dumb.
Everything has been done before. Everything. Even when we think we’ve re-invented the wheel – and we all do sometimes – we eventually learn that someone else did it back in the stone age.
When was there a movie with a new idea? (Look at Avatar – nothing original about it but the technology.) A book? A TV show? A song? So why expect anything totally original from an ad?
That doesn’t make outright theft okay. It’s not. But most times it’s not theft. Most times it’s accidental. Or “inspired by” – which is valid. Or just similar.
Hell, 100 countries doing ads multiplied by hundreds of products, most with the same promise (beer – refreshes; cars – performance; soft drinks – fun) multiplied by a 100 years of ads. And you’re shocked when executions have been done before?
Grow up.
Nicely put 3.37pm.
Mature, in a sea of juvenile.
I don’t mid admitting that I read this blog a lot (despite the silly comments).
I know one thing about this blog that is rarely wrong, any work that hits the 100 comments plus is clearly interesting and goes on to win at the award shows.
This work will be a big winner, and so will Carlton Draught.
3.37, whilst i agree in advertising it’s hard to be original, i don’t think that such praise should be lavished on this work……..the truth is, this is a terribly unoriginal campaign. The Halifax won numerous awards the world over when it employed this technique in the late 80’s and as has already been mentioned , many others have have followed. Its not like its easy not to have noticed all the previous incarnations. Knowledge of what has gone before is part and parcel of the job we do and any CD worth his salt would know of similar campaigns. This one is identical and as such won’t leave anyone in it’s wake.
3.37
understand the rules.
if an ad nicks from an ad it is not worthy.
if an ad uses a technique or a scene from tv, film or art than its ok.
you DON’T NICK ADS TO MAKE ANOTHER AD….OMG…..ARE YOU NAIEVE????
OTHERWISE WE ALL MIGHT AS WELL JUST LOOK THROUGH AWARD BOOKS AND GO TO LUNCH ALL THE TIME.
YOU JUST DON’T DO ADS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE BEFORE YOU NEWB.
DONE+DONE+DONE=DONE.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER, THE TEAM , THE CLIENT AND THE AGENCY HAVE BEEN.
3:37pm
So on Monday I rock up to work armed with my D&ADS, ONE SHOWS etc books and flick through the pages to match my brief with a visual treatment or headline from years gone by 50’s, 60’s ,70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 00’s and no one should worry?
Work that got into these books and awards got there because of the thought and artistry used to create them. A new way of looking at the same problem.
Why borrow from other peoples hard work? If you do, you should pay the company who advertised first or the ad agency a royalty as you would with a sound track.
Have a rethink.
Only the dumbest team from the dumbest agency would knowingly copy creative from another awarded campaign. To then PR that work and enter it into awards (i’m sure they will) is even more dumberer.
Now I’m pretty sure the team and the agency involved aren’t that.
I’m sure they’d rip their hair out (like most of us) if they discovered their idea had been done before. I’m pretty sure if Ben Coulsen knew about the Halifax campaign he would have scrapped the idea before presentation.
I’m sure they’d all be laughing at the comparison of some 80’s building society ad to their belting new Navy campaign.
Who would even know about the Halifax campaign unless they were a salty old geezer CD who is bitter for not cracking an idea as nice since the annual containing the Halifax work was released.
Anyway, I’m jealous. Keep up the good work chaps.
T
Ummm 3.35 and 3.37 (the second one, not me) – did you read what I wrote? Just a reminder:
“That doesn’t make outright theft okay. It’s not. But most times it’s not theft.”
So, no, it isn’t fine to go through D&AD (though plenty do it).
What I’m saying is, it’s just natural in our industry that we often come up with ideas that are similar or the same as ideas that have come before. If you have the same kind of product or the same brief or the same kind of challenge, it’s bound to happen regularly. And is being “inspired” by an ad that doesn’t appear in your market any worse than being inspired by a movie or TV show?
For example, is the Big Ad stealing from British Airways because it uses the same visual device?
Is VB stealing the idea from the “Real American Hero” campaign?
3:35 – it’s okay to rip off a movie but it’s not okay to rip off an ad? Sounds like you poo out your mouth and eat with your bum-hole.
Ahh… thanks for the mostly positive comments. That’s great.
However, Chris and I wanted it on record that neither of our parents bought us the D&AD annual in 1984. If memory serves me I got the Big Book of Dinosaurs and Chris got Tron – on Beta.
That Halifax ad is good though. Someone should bring back the marble studio backdrop. There’s a look worth stealing.
It’s just so Archive 96/98/2001/2003…
i stole that copy of tron from chris when we shared a room and got it autographed by The Dude. Cash money oscar winning tron 2 payday.
BEAUTIFUL.
The issue is not whether it’s been done before. Similarity is only a concern to people in the ad industry.
The real problem – the fatal flaw – is that there is nothing in this work to persuade anyone to join the Navy. It’s totally superficial.
It seems to only have been done to impress the ad industry. Unfortunately, for anyone who knows their arse from their elbow, it doesn’t even do that.
Simon, sorry to say that your excuse of being too young to realise you’d ripped it off is rather pathetic…….nice of you to condescendingly praise the Halifax work….but the truth is your CD should have known of that work and many other similar campaigns. Don’t get me wrong i like your work , its just that i liked it the most the first time i saw it when it had a building society logo in the bottom right hand corner.
Let he who is without sin….
I like it.
Darryl, let it go, if you like the Halifax, be happy, no need to bash another trying his best.
Simon, 20 Hail Marys for not finishing your Porsche yet.
Oh, and I’ve been singing the Tingle inbetween Ode to Joy and What a friend we have in Me.
Having a name like Darryl is the only reason for anonymous commenting.
Darryl… HA!
Load of old bollocks…the ads….the discussions about the ads and the obvious self praising comments attributed to others.
Hilarious.
Someone fir a missile and sink these ships…the dude is right…they have been done.
The other dude is right ….they don’t persuade me to join up.
Could do the same with a building contractor….or a bus supplier.
OOOOH yeah maybe someone else will do that in a few years and that’ll be ok toooooo….i rather think not.
Sorry but thats right.
I like these ads. They make me feel funny in my undies. And thats the main thing.
Not sure what all the angry hate is for. I think they look cool. I think punters will think they look cool. I think punters will think the Navy is a little cooler for it to. Might even get a couple of half converted punters to pick up a brochure or have a look online. Isn’t that what this is all about. If the creatives pick up some tin along the way – well done. If not – bad luck.
Just ease up on the angry everyone.
Peace.
Unfortunately 5:34, that feeling in your undies is more likely to have you drinking a Carlton Draught than joining the navy.
Well I for one went straight out and joined the navy as soon as I saw these ads. I’m now sailing off the coast of Afghanistan – very difficult to do – humming a tingle song and drinking a Tooheys (damn that slack branding). Still, I’m glad my navy paycheck is going straight into my Commbank account – especially since their ads are done by my yank allies.
Even if you don’t want to join after seeing these ads, at least they make you feel that there are men and women out there doing an awesome job of protecting your mundane life while you bitch on this site.
Patts all round, you guys! And I honestly don’t even know you. Wow. Well done. Nice one. These are very, VERY good. Cool idea for a tough client. Stunning. Sooooo simple. Awesome. Done it again, you dogs! Me jealous. Lovely work. Love you. Hate you. My shout Friday. Yum cha Sunday? Pick me, pick me! What’s with the angry peeps here anyway? Ignore the naysayers – no stamps in their passports this June. I wanna come too, ya bastards. No seriously, this is faaark’n rad. Me likee a whole lot. Hang on, I’m hearing gongs. No wait. It’s more of a constant beeping sound. Oh my god, it’s the metal detectors for the flight out of Nice! LOL
if that gets a gong …well then it shows the state of the industry that such a blatent rip off can be awarded…joellepompe is about to strike methinks.