This campaign from 2004 created a bit of a fuss, particularly the canoe ad. The Advertising Standards Bureau issued a complaint based on ” “Because it is a bit ‘dangerous’.” “Some crazy person would get out there and do it just like that.”. The agency basically responded with a polite and politically correct version of “sodd off, its a joke you idiots”.
The campaign was created by George Patterson’s Ant Keogh and Grant Rutherford.
Basically the idea behind the campaign was relating to Carlton Draught being a good, honest, real beer. “Made from beer” expressed that but also with a sense of the absurd whilst at the same time speaking to purity.
The execution of the commercials came from juxtaposing the qualities of true and real – focussing on those stereotypes of men which really only seem to exist on TV and veering off into the absolute absurd. Quintessentially they made fun of stuff which was a load of old nonsense.
As for the canoe, Ant & Grant explained it best in an article in the SMH – “We got to the bit about, ‘A man needs to win, to get on top and stay there, and you can’t do that without …’ and we then started thinking about the ultimate male business accessory; something even more impressive than a Palm Pilot, a canoe!”
The initial “Made from Beer” commercial
and the controversial Canoe spot
