MTV Budgie Smugglers in Australia

MTV Australia is promoting interest in the upcoming MTV Australia Video Music Awards with a series of teasers and a 2 minute video featuring men in their ‘budgie smugglers’ – swimming costumes. The awards will be held at the Sydney SuperDome on April 12, 2006. The campaign stars Shayne, a delivery truck driver who lives every moment in a pair of speedos.

Shayne speaks in blokey Strine… “I don’t actually think that I’m that different from most people, going buff, like with the crowd in most ways it’s pretty accepted. There’s a lot of us out there these days smuggling and… it’s a pretty standard thing.” Shayne stands outside an Italian restaurant on Great North Rd, Five Dock, in Sydney, and points to the secret symbol of a budgie smuggler with the ‘big kranski’ (sausage) on top. He talks about being pulled up by a policeman if the “cut’s a bit high”. Shayne delivers a mannequin to a shopkeeper who tells us we’re all different and like to do different things.

The Inspiration

Shayne’s inspiration is his Dad, Ray, who tells us about trading his ‘six pack’ abs for a ‘one pack’. Holding his flashing speedos, Shayne explains that he started out with just a regular pair, regular shape and regular colours. But his fellow smuggler, Fang, brought back the special pair from China. Fang speaks in Chinese, the sub titles telling us, “Shayne is a good man. He reminds me of my father. In China we call budgie smugglers steamed prawn dumplings.” To the tune of Mad World….
“Once you’ve become a budgie smuggler you’re into the life of freedom. Just found that it’s been a great lifestyle for me.”

Here’s Shayne’s brief (excuse the pun) from the MTV Australia site:

Shayne is mates with the golden sluggo-clad Fang and his slightly stretchier clad Dad, Ray. Shayne’s world is a snapshot of multi-cultural Australia. He enjoys a chat over a good Turkish kebab, wrestles with a bunch of German backpackers and likes nothing better than to chow down a good Chinese meal at his mate Fang’s restaurant.

Credits

The Budgie Smugglers campaign was designed by advertising agency The Works, Sydney, whose team included creative director Kevin MacMillan, creative Damian Pincus, copywriter Nick Levey, and art director Simon Higby, working with MTV creative director Annabel Beresford.

Filming in Sydney was directed by Michael Wong via NZ film production company The Sweet Shop, working with producer Sarah Cook and director of photography Mark Bliss.

Editing was done by Daniel Lee at Karl Marks, Sydney. Post Production was done at The Lab, Sydney. Graphic design was done by Ash Boland at UMERIC, Sydney.

For more on the MTV campaign, including downloadable pictures and short clips, see MTV Australia’s Budgie Smuggler Features. For your own pair of ‘budgy smugglers’ head over to www.budgysmuggler.com.au.