We Love Our Lamb

The overall purpose of the MLA 'We love our Lamb' campaign is to drive the consumer demand and sales for Australian lamb.[4] It promotes Lamb as Australia's national dish. As well as the advertisement that runs across platforms spanning from television, online and across social media channels, the 'We Love our Lamb' campaign continues to utilise several other elements in order to ensure they keep meeting consumer demand.[5] Such platforms include outdoor advertising, a variety of product-focused point-of-sale promotions across retailers and an ongoing media broadcast partnership with Channel Nine including promotion throughout Channel Nine's Summer of Cricket.[6] The domestic marketing campaign remains the largest market for Australian Lamb consumption, with lamb contributing to a low purchase frequency in relation to its counterparts. Reportedly, these campaigns are important to securing continued and ongoing support for lamb for consumers, retailers and foodservices.

Historically, the MLA Lamb campaign was seasonal in its approach – with marketing restricted to Spring – when product supply, demand and quality was at its best. With advancements in supply chains and production methods, lamb became readily available all year round. To achieve year-round presence, the MLA sought to leverage public holidays, occasions and events. The campaign has progressed since its inception in 1999, with its initial aim of highlighting the 'injustice' of American tariffs on Australian Lamb, beseeching people to support domestic farmers by eating more lamb. Since then, not only has the campaign reportedly succeeded in terms of sales, however, the campaign has identified the 'Australian-ness' of Lamb.

From the outset, the campaign was faced with challenges pertaining to a surge in lamb prices, retailers expectations, stagnant marketing funds and laws of diminishing returns.[7] In real terms, both sheep and lamb prices have risen in nominal terms and have subsequently increased in the last three decades. Quarterly retail prices for lamb rose by 93% from 2000. In short, the 2000s was a decade characterised by volatility and a rising in lamb prices. Driven by stronger export demand and severe droughts conditions, the campaigns primary challenge was to advertise a product an expensive product.

Additionally, the financials in relation to the delivery of the campaign was costly. As illustrated in the graph below, the overall cost of the campaign was steep. However, the investment into the public holiday, coupled with an alleged, niche marketing campaign has delivered outstanding results. Between the years of 2007 and 2009, the advert was held accountable for generating a total return on investment of $8.04 for every dollar spent, amounting to an incremental revenue of $29.3 million.

According to critics, the MLA 'We love our Lamb' campaign has proven to be the most successful campaign of its type.[17] This is largely seen in its reported record increase in lamb sales throughout the entirety of the Australia Day period. Since its production, the longstanding campaign has become more 'iconic as lamb itself and each year it is designed to encourage consumers to come together to celebrate Australia Day with lamb.'

The campaign produced a 34.4 per cent increase in sales as opposed to its weekly average for the week preceding Australia Day. Additionally, a 39.5 per cent hike in sales versus its weekly average for the week that hosts Australia Day. Overall, this amounts to 36.9 per cent sales increase throughout the 'We Love our Lamb' campaign entirety, proving to be the most successful advertising campaign for The Monkeys Production Group on record.[18] Regarding the 2007 advertisement, the video itself was viewed over 5.5 million times online and has continued to grow. Since the videos publication, campaign has generated 1274 media articles which in turn has been delivered to a cumulative audience that exceeds 404 million.

The 2016 "We Love our Lamb" commercial promoting Australian lamb which was heavily criticised by the Hindu community, with claims from international religious body stating that the advertisement was 'insensitive ad poking fun at deity Ganesha.[19]' As part of its 'You Never Lamb Alone' pitch, sees an Australian Barbecue with religious figures including Jesus, Buddha, Zeus, Aphrodite, Moses, and the Hindu god Ganesha. The god is only referred to in the ad as the 'butt of the joke,' with the religious icons joking about 'addressing the elephant in the room?' With that in mind, Ganesha commonly referred to as a vegetarian, and the god's presence in a campaign that promotes meat has reportedly angered Hindus in Australia and even more so internationally. The president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, claimed that the ad could potentially have an adverse effect on meat sales overseas.[20]

Additionally, while the MLA has claimed that the response to the 'You'll Never Lamb Alone' campaign was for the most part positive, some in the Indigenous community have claimed that the advert is highly offensive. The aforementioned campaign that depicts early settlement has seen viewers taken umbrage at the complete commission of references to Australia Day, while others within the Indigenous community have since criticised the advert. During the advert, as Dutch, English, German and other early settlers alike arrive, their interaction between indigenous and non-indigenous people has reportedly tried to make light of Australia's past few years.[21]