| Title | THE FRIEND |
| Brand | BAIADA |
| Product / Service | LILYDALE FREE RANGE CHICKEN |
| Category | B01. Fast Moving Consumer Goods |
| Entrant | M&C SAATCHI Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| Idea Creation | M&C SAATCHI Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| Media Placement | HYLAND Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| PR | ELEVEN Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| Production | FINCH Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| Additional Company | HARDHAT Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Cam Blackley | M&C Saatchi | Chief Creative Officer |
| Shane Gibson | M&C Saatchi | Creative Director |
| Sharon Edmondston | M&C Saatchi | Creative Director |
| Leandro Pereira | M&C Saatchi | Copywriter |
| Chris Brailey | M&C Saatchi | Copywriter |
| Jardin Anderson | M&C Saatchi | Art Director |
| Catherine Mellon | M&C Saatchi | Group Strategy Director |
| Vanessa Boueyres | M&C Saatchi | Group Head |
| Laura Jones | M&C Saatchi | Senior Account Director |
| Sarah Dillon | M&C Saatchi | Account Manager |
| Brianna Morton | M&C Saatchi | Account Executive |
| Sarah Cowen | M&C Saatchi | Senior TV Producer |
| Angela Byrnes | M&C Saatchi | Integrated Producer |
| Christopher Riggert | FINCH | Director |
| Claire Thompson | FINCH | Producer |
| Loren Bradley | FINCH | Executive Producer |
| Sam Chiplin | FINCH | Cinematographer |
| Drew Thompson | ARC EDIT | Editor |
| Ben Eagleton | F/L | Colourist |
| Meg Drummond | Song Zu | Audio Producer |
| Myles Lowe | Song Zu | Sound Designer |
| Sean Izzard | The Pool Collective | Photographer |
| Bridget Curtis | The Pool Collective | Producer |
| Yash Gandhi | Baiada | Head of Marketing |
| Shawn Stevens | Baiada | Snr. Brand Manager |
| Saba Khan | Baiada | Brand Manager |
| Rhiannon Purrer | Baiada | Asst. Brand Manager |
| . . | Stevie Ray CGA | Casting |
A farmer sleeps in an armchair when a baby monitor wakes him up. He rushes outside and relaxes when he finds his chickens lounging around the other monitor. To the sound of Andrew Gold’s hit ‘Thank You For Being a Friend’, we see a series of great efforts made by this farmer raising his beloved birds. He reads to them. He sings to them. He protects them from the rain. All received with blank, unappreciative stares from the chickens. The VO says: "Here at Lilydale, we work hard raising Australia's favorite free-range chicken. It's not easy..." Suddenly we cut to the farmer's kitchen as he's chopping vegetables. An oven ding interrupts the soundtrack. He gives the camera a sheepish look, then shrugs as the VO continues: "...But it sure is worth it." We move towards the lit oven behind him and supers appear: "Dedication you can taste. Lilydale".
Like in other markets, it's taboo for Australian advertising to even vaguely acknowledge that the meat the country eats – and the country eats a lot of it – comes from animals that were once alive. This gives more oomph to a commercial that doesn't shy away from this truth. It's also worth noting that the soundtrack, ‘Thank You For Being a Friend’, carries strong nostalgic value as the theme song to 80's sitcom hit ‘The Golden Girls’, which was very popular in Australia.