Carlton Big Ad

When Carlton Draught released “The Big Ad” in 2005, the beer industry didn’t just get a commercial - it got a phenomenon. Part parody, part spectacle, and entirely unforgettable, the spot became one of the most celebrated ads in Australian history, famous worldwide for its absurd scale and self-aware humor. But behind its giant human formations and booming choral soundtrack lies a story of creative risk-taking, satire, and a team determined to prove that an advertisement could be both massive and smart.

The initial brief was simple: make a beer ad people would actually want to watch. At the time, the category was drowning in clichés - slow-motion pours, golden beaches, blokey banter. Carlton Draught and its agency, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, saw an opportunity to mock those tropes while simultaneously outdoing them. Their answer was a tongue-in-cheek epic inspired by Hollywood battle scenes and overblown beer advertising grandeur. Instead of CGI armies or high-tech spectacle, the team envisioned something far funnier: hundreds of real people running across a valley, forming giant shapes, and singing about how “This is a big ad!”

The absurdity was the point. By making the ad’s scale comically literal, the creators highlighted how ridiculous traditional “big budget” beer ads had become. Yet they delivered the scale anyway - the valley in New Zealand where the commercial was filmed served as a natural amphitheater, and hundreds of extras were choreographed into synchronized human billboards. Even the score parodied Carl Orff-style cinematic bombast, with choir lyrics announcing exactly what the viewer was watching: “It’s a big ad… expensive ad…” The self-referential honesty only made it more entertaining.

Despite its humorous tone, the production itself was genuinely enormous. The shoot required a small army of coordinators, drone and helicopter units for sweeping aerial shots, and meticulous planning to form the massive “man pouring beer into another man” choreography that became its signature visual. Every moment was engineered to look as extravagant as possible - while winking at the audience about the extravagance.

When the ad debuted, it spread faster online than most commercials of its era, becoming one of the earliest examples of a viral advertisement before social media dominated distribution. It won international awards, was quoted in marketing textbooks, and helped cement Carlton Draught’s brand personality: self-aware, irreverent, and proudly Australian.

But perhaps the biggest legacy of “Big Ad” is how it changed the conversation around beer advertising. It proved that viewers weren’t tired of big ideas - they were tired of formulaic ones. By leaning into parody while delivering craftsmanship, Carlton showed that humor and creativity could be as powerful as production budgets. In doing so, the brand didn’t just make a memorable commercial; it created a cultural event.