Summer campaigns see brands capitalise on the stereotypes of the Australian summer.
From surfing to budgie smugglers, the cricket and mango season, Mediaweek looks at the summer campaigns of 2024.
McDonald’s: Macca’s run? via DDB Sydney and OMD
DDB Group Sydney, OMD and McDonald’s Australia are celebrating summer with a new integrated campaign posing the question on every Aussie’s lips: ‘Macca’s run?’
The campaign invites the nation to sit back, relax, and enjoy some feel-good moments and celebrates the 1,001 reasons that Aussies choose to go to Macca’s over summer.
“It’s the season of Macca’s runs and we’re celebrating all the fun ways our customers engage with us over the silly season and importantly, during their Aussie Summer road trips,” Amanda Nakad, McDonald’s marketing director, said. “It’s designed to drive trial of our exciting new Summer menu and we are thrilled to see it in market thanks to our agency village.”
NRMA: Summer of Community Cricket via Accenture Song
NRMA Insurance is helping to unite Australians by making this season ‘The Summer of Community Cricket’ in its new campaign with Accenture Song.
Building on the recent launch of its “A Help Company” positioning and partnership with Cricket Australia, the campaign elevates its promise of helping Australians in more ways through valuable experiences.
“At NRMA Insurance, we believe connected communities are more resilient,” IAG chief customer and marketing officer Michelle Klein said. “Local cricket is great for the community, and it’s been helping Aussies get to know their neighbours and pitch in together for many generations.
“This summer NRMA Insurance is demonstrating its promise of help within the cultural context of sport, by fostering the kind of local connections that we know makes communities stronger.”
DiDi: Tow service for summer festive Via Sunday Gravy
DiDi and agency Sunday Gravy has launched its innovative new service, DiDi Tow, to make roads a little safer this holiday season and the coming summer’s busiest nights.
The rideshare company’s service, which will be able to book the service from within the app, allows people to stay and have “one more” while ensuring both they and their vehicle get home safely, so they can wake up the next morning with their car in the driveway.
“To help get less people behind the wheel this summer, we’re introducing an array of initiatives, including DiDi Tow, a summer surge cap, and discount codes to make ridesharing the safe and affordable option,” Tim Farmer, head of brand marketing ANZ, DiDi, said.
The in-app service and video are part of a wider campaign, encouraging people to get out and enjoy everything the ‘24/’25 summer has to offer – that’s supported by OOH, Social, and Radio.
Mov’in Bed returns via BBR and Val Morgan Cinema
Outdoor cinema experiences Mov’in Bed is back for summer with experiential event agency BBR and Val Morgan Cinema.
Harbour Park in Sydney’s Barangaroo will be transformed into a beach club-style cinema from 29th November to 23rd March. Mov’in Bed offers an immersive pre-show experience where consumers can relax, socialise, and indulge in food and beverages while securing their bed for the film. With an average dwell time of 1.5 hours, brands have ample opportunity to make an impact on captivated audiences.
The upcoming Mov’in Bed season will feature of the biggest blockbuster titles and cultural moments of the summer and beyond, including huge franchise hits including the upcoming Gladiator II, Wicked, Mufasa: The Lion King, Captain America: Brave New World and more.
Mov’in Bed will also be screening throwback films with beloved cult classics, including Love Actually, Dirty Dancing and 10 Things I Hate About You.
“This summer, Mov’in Bed brings back an unmatched cinema experience under the stars to Sydney’s Barangaroo,” Vincent Hernandez, event director of BBR said. “This experience combines comfort and a unique ‘city beach’ concept for cinematic magic and unforgettable summer nights.”
Jetstar: Seeking Sandmates via Thinkerbell
Jetstar and creative agency Thinkerbell are encouraging Aussies to build their own Sandman in a new content series, Seeking Sandmates.
The series tells the story of a Sandman on his quest to find other Sandmates and avoid spending Christmas alone. Travelling to destinations across the country and testing out different types of sand, Aussies are invited to join in the fun by building their own Sandperson for a chance to win up to $100k worth of flights.
“We may not have snow here in Australia at Christmas, but we do have more sandy beaches than anywhere else in the world and an airline that can get you to them, for very little,” Tom Wenborn, chief tinker at Thinkerbell, said.
“Let’s hope this new Jetstar tradition catches on, and we see merry little Sandpeople pop up all over the country,” he added.
Weis: ‘The Saviour of Summer’ campaign via Emotive and Unilever
Emotive, in collaboration with Unilever, has launched its new summer campaign for Weis following the creative agency’s appointment to the Australian ice cream brand earlier this year.
‘The Saviour of Summer’ campaign shows how Weis bars are the perfect taste of relief, with a Weis-A-Corn – a magical character with a Weis Bar horn – ready to offer cool, refreshing moments for Australians.
The Weis-A-Corn, voiced by Aussie actor Justin Rosniak, highlights the brand’s essence to life in a quirky and unexpected way, capturing the fun and refreshment that Weis has delivered for generations.
Rupert Taylor, creative director of Emotive, said: “Summer is a brilliant time of year, right up until it isn’t. When the temperature rises, the beaches get crowded and searing steering wheels become torture devices. We need some help. Enter the magical Weis-a-corn, a slightly disgruntled bearer of delicious Weis bars brilliantly brought to life hilariously by Yianni, the MoFa team and the always brilliant ALT VFX.”
Wotif: ‘Great Summer Escape’ via Spark Foundry and Emotive
Wotif, part of Expedia Group, teamed up with Spark Foundry, Publicis Sport & Entertainment Australia, Emotive and The Brag Media to launch the Wotif Great Summer Escape campaign.
The campaign was a multi-sensory escape room that invites Australians to break free from their daily routines and experience their dream domestic holiday. Over three days in both Sydney and Melbourne, potential travellers will be transported to Australia’s breathtaking rainforests and beaches, dazzling coral reefs and incredible accommodation in an immersive escape room adventure.
“Showcasing Wotif in a way that best reflects their playful brand, we aimed to deliver an activation that will cut through the daily grind and inspire audiences,” Natali Kakovska, Spark Foundry Australia client partner, said.
“Wotif’s openness to delivering exciting work and their willingness to truly collaborate allowed us to take our media strategy and deliver a unique experience for consumers. This achievement is a testament to the cohesive effort of our agency and media partners.”
Calypso: The ‘must-have’ mango of the season via Wavemaker and Elevencom
Wavemaker Brisbane, Elevencom and Perfection Fresh have teamed up to launch a new national campaign for Calypso Mangoes.
The media agency used its proprietary planning tool, CX Journey, to generate deep consumer behaviour insights and develop an audience-first approach to the media strategy and channel plan to craft a campaign that positions Calypso as the “must-have” mango of the season.
The campaign builds on its well-established brand identity by leveraging innovative media formats across Screens, Special Builds, OOH, Digital, Social, Search, and Partnerships, including a 3D OOH feature. The partnership also extends to a “Christmas with The Weekly” collaboration with Are Media’s The Australian Women’s Weekly, positioning Calypso Mangoes as the hero ingredient for Aussie Christmas recipes and celebrations.
Royal Life Saving WA: Be a Mermate via 303 MullenLowe
Royal Life Saving WA and 303 MullenLowe have teamed up to bring back the ‘Mermates’ platform in a refreshed water safety behaviour change campaign that targets a new generation of water-goers.
The new ‘Be a Mermate’ campaign and its “give risky behaviour a splash in the face” tagline delivers an evolved safety message that goes beyond the original campaign’s focus on alcohol and water safety.
First seen in 2019 and developed by the agency, it resulted in positive shifts in the attitudes of 15–24-year-olds towards safe drinking behaviour around water. With a new generation of water goers, awareness on a broader range of water safety issues was required, according to Royal Life Saving WA’s Blanche Marchant.
“Top factors now associated with fatal drownings range from environmental, location, inexperience, prior injury, and swimming ability, with drug/alcohol use lower than previous years,” Marchant said. “A new safety awareness message was needed to focus on these risky behaviours. This evolved approach will send a clear message to young people, and their mates, that keeping each other safe is the best way to avoid water related tragedy this summer.”
