Carling Brewing Company. Black Label 'The Australian Dunny Spider' (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/oUtHcTmklGE
Text: the the ad is set in an outback bar where a group of 'Aussie' farmers (in flannos https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flanno and Akubras https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akubra ) are confronted by a 'pommy' tourist (seemingly, used as a caricature to epitomise stereotypes about weakness and naivety e.g. the 'sucker', 'trusting soul', 'effete townie') who at first seems out of his depth. Upon discovering a huge spider in the 'outside dunny' and failing to flinch - the tourist proves his mettle - and with that, implying the toughness and fortitude of his countryfolk (and Carling Black Label brand). Messaging: the ad is coded - leveraging cultural myths and stereotypes of nationhood, which Carling Black Label seeks to align with its product/brand (and thereby, the fortunes of its protagonists). Simon: the ad seeks to leverage cultural myths of 'Britishness' (of shared cultural values/identity). In doing so, such 'Britishness' is matched against a British characterisation (cliché/stereotype/archetype) of so called, 'Australian ruggedness' i.e. the ad alludes (explicitly and implicitly) to a series of positive British attributes, which brought into contrast with a simplified and pejorative characterisation of Australian cultural identity. In this sense, the ad could be discussed in terms of Julia Kristeva's concept of 'intertextuality' and/or 'frame analysis' and/or 'script theory/schemas' For example, noting how the ad (intertextualy) references both British and Australian cultural identity i.e. comparisons between myths of the so-called 'ocker' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocker and 'Crocodile Dundee' franchise and the persona of its star Paul Hogan i.e. https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/98106-shrimp-barbie-paul-hogan (and even https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin ) etc. + ideas around Britishness e.g. such as those evoked by the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' slogan etc. Where such characterisations necessarily, leverage the sociocultural knowledge (schemas) - as Derek Bolen might see it - of an assumed consumer who brings to the ad an awareness, which is shaped by their prior experience, interaction and everyday observations; essentially, an understanding, which is sympathetic to the ad's messaging. Additionally, the ad constructs a 'frame' (as per Erving Goffman's frame analysis'), which its viewers interpret through its presentation of a series of recognisable images, stereotypes, metaphors, actors, messages. ---------------------------------------
