This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Clever 'Never Lamb Alone' Ad Celebrates Australia's Awesome Diversity

Lamb doesn't discriminate and neither should you.

Lamb doesn't discriminate and neither should you is the message of Meat and Livestock Australia's new spring lamb campaign, in a marked departure from previous digs at vegetarians.

MLA's 2016 Spring Lamb campaign ad, which features two men playing gay dads and transgender comedian Jordan Raskopoulos, is aimed at promoting Australia's diversity.

"It proves that there is no other meat that brings people together quite like lamb," MLA said on its website.

"(The ad) cuts to the chase and addresses the fact that we are a welcoming and inclusive society that loves lamb, by featuring a cast of Aussies from all walks of life, coming together over a lamb barbecue."

Among the celebrities shown in the 90-second ad are Raskopoulos, gold medal-Olympian Cathy Freeman, model Samantha Harris, TV presenter Luke Jacobz and NRL star Greg Inglis.

Meat and Livestock Australia's marketing director Andrew Howie told Mumbrella while the campaign was light hearted it was also serious.

"Why are we still talking about not talking about diversity?" he said.

"It's quite sad that we have to run a campaign to say 'hey Australia, you know what, we are really diverse and we should be accepting of everything and everyone'.

"There is an irony in having to run a campaign in Australia that is multicultural; mix we have to try to showcase the multicultural mix we have."

The lamb message will also be spread across ethnic print press and on in-language social media, including WeChat and Weibo.

The ad is a far cry from January's Australia Day 'Operation Boomerang' lamb ad, which was criticised for showing a scene where a vegetarian has their houses set on fire for not liking lamb.

The Advertising Standards Bureau gave the controversial Australia Day campaign the all clear later that month, despite hundreds of complaints.

After they first debuted in 2005, wherein former AFL player, media personality, and lamb fanatic Sam Kekovich delivered a tongue-in-cheek lambasting of vegetarians as un-Australian, it was the subject of complaints to the Advertising Standards Bureau from non-meat-eaters who described it as discriminatory.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.