DARRELL LEA PALM OIL FREE

TitleDARRELL LEA PALM OIL FREE
BrandDARRELL LEA
Product / ServiceCONFECTIONARY
CategoryA03. Casting
EntrantAKKOMPLICE Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation AKKOMPLICE Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
PR BIRDS OF PREY Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Production THE PRODUCERS Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Post Production ALT VFX Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Post Production 2 BANG BANG STUDIOS Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Nathan Herbertson Akkomplice Senior Designer
Kenny Hill Akkomplice Founder & Creative Director
Mitch Kennedy The Producers Director
Sara Oteri Akkomplice Executive Creative Director

Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

The commercial opens with the iconic music track “Freedom 90!” by George Michael. The camera tracks along the floor to a drum kit where we see a drummer in action – but this is no ordinary drummer. As the camera pulls back, we discover it’s an orangutan and she’s swept up in the joy of the track, drumming along in the rainforest. We hear George Michael cry out “…because I don’t belong to you and you don’t belong to me” before the song hits a crescendo with the “freedom” chorus, and the orangutan looks directly into the viewer’s eyes as the line appears on screen next to her: THE CHOICES YOU MAKE CAN CHANGE HER WORLD. She continues her joyful drumming as we pull back through the rainforest and see the DARRELL LEA logo appear and the final super: NOW 100% PALM OIL FREE

Cultural / Context information for the jury

In the year leading up to the launch of this campaign, Zoos Victoria had publicly ejected all Cadbury confectionary from Melbourne Zoo and their other properties due to their unsustainable sourcing of palm oil. In Australia, Cadbury dominates the chocolate/confectionary segment of the market that Darrell Lea is expanding into and there is still massive awareness of their famous “Gorilla” commercial, which had a Gorilla playing the drums to an iconic rock track.

Tell the jury about the casting process.

We needed the perfect talent to support our message, set the right tone for the campaign and be the face of the Darrell Lea brand for what we knew would become a highly talked about campaign. Like Andy Serkis and his portrayal of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings, the success of the orangutan at the centre of our work depended on the coming together of a great human performance and the work of digital wizards to bring the right expression and total believability to the screen. Our casting process saw us auditioning some of Australia’s top drummers who could immerse themselves into the final character of our orangutan. Each step of the casting, from human skill and performance right through to the orangutan’s eye colour, age and facial movements were heavily considered to connect with our viewer in delivering a serious message that inspired them to act.