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Sam Neill to front MLA’s latest red hot red meat campaign
March 2006
International superstar Sam Neill will be fronting an exciting new consumer education campaign exploring the human race’s instinctive urge to eat red meat.
Set to kick off phase two of Meat and Livestock Australia's (MLA) highly successful Red Meat: Feel Good campaign, it tells the story of how we came to be and just what an important role diet and especially red meat played in the development of our species.
"We are very excited and privileged that Sam Neill is the face of our new television campaign. As a trusted familiar face, we believe he will really strike a chord with consumers," said David Thomason, General Manager, Marketing at MLA.
The Campaign Palace/ Red Cell is responsible for the outstanding new creative shot entirely on location in South Africa. The breakthrough campaign will involve a series of television commercials, magazine print ads, outdoor, online and point-of-sale to appear in butcher stores and supermarkets across Australia from 12 March.
"This campaign takes over from where Singing Butchers, Stairway to Heaven and Soccer Path left off. The previous campaign was designed to make people ‘feel good’ about eating meat, which they did. However, there are still those who restrict their intake because they feel it’s not healthy or it’s not natural.
"Our challenge is to move red meat from a 'feel good' food to a 'foundation' food, encouraging people to understand that red meat is not just nice to have but essential and we’ve demonstrated this by linking red meat to the development of mankind. The theme of the campaign looks at how evolution took a giant leap forward two million years ago when man started to eat red meat. If he hadn’t, where would we be now?" continued David.
Launching on the platform of the Commonwealth Games, the campaign will kick off with an epic 60 second television commercial with Sam Neill taking viewers on a journey through time showing red meat's important role in human development.
Doctors will be targeted with URSA Communications rolling out a dedicated print campaign within GP publications. Research by MLA has shown GPs commend the ads for making the link between red meat and human development as well as broadening their knowledge of the many modern-day benefits of eating red meat.
"We’re challenging Australians to look at the big two million year picture and consider the crucial part red meat has played in the evolution of the species," said David.
"Today we are very similar genetically to our early ancestors and our nutritional needs are virtually the same. This is why our bodies instinctively desire red meat for health and well being.
"The take-out message is that if you’re eating lean red meat three to four times a week as part of a nutritious diet and healthy lifestyle, you’re doing the right thing," concluded David.
Campaign Palace/ Red Cell creative credits:
Writer: Yanni Pounartzis/ Art Director: Dean Hunt/ Production house: Filmgraphics/ Director: Dave Deneen