From constantly evolving language to fast-growing technologies, the divide between generations is a continual topic of debate in the media and pop culture. This year’s annual ad for Meat and Livestock Australia parodies the disparities between different generations, using satirical humour to unite them around a shared passion: the irresistibility of a lamb barbecue.

The spot, created by the Monkeys, translates the generational gap into a physical form, taking place in a fictional world divided by fissures in which each generation occupies its own quarter.

A series of scenes poke fun at the perceived stereotypes of boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z respectively, as they proceed to hurl insults at one another. Only once the aroma of a lamb barbecue begins to permeate the air are they all able to put their gripes behind them.

Sitting behind the humour of the ad is a topical emphasis on the importance of having intergenerational conversations, as highlighted by the ongoing divisions around national holiday Australia Day (now referred by some as Invasion Day or Survival Day).

“The various frustrations this year have each generation throwing tropes around, looking for someone to blame. When you scratch the surface though, it’s attitudes, not age, that divide us,” says Scott Dettrick, creative director at the Monkeys.

“Maybe if we just got around a lamb barbecue and had a chat, we might find out that grandad is actually pretty cool, or all that stuff millennials know can be really useful. Our entire creative process this year was a fun generational debate.”

Credits:
Creative Agency: The Monkeys, Accenture Song
CCO: Tara Ford
Creative Director: Scott Dettrick
Creative Team: Jake Ausburn, Alex Polglase
Production Company: Rabbit
Directors: Aimée-Lee Xu Hsien, Trent O’Donnell
DOP: Emma Paine
Production Design: Virginia Mesiti
VFX Supervisor: Andreas Wanda
Music & Sound: MassiveMusic