Ant Keogh’s Kerfuffle joins Asahi creative pitch
CUB’s "Big Ad" creator back in the ring for Asahi roster
The creative force behind some of Australia’s most iconic beer campaigns has thrown his hat in the ring as parent company Asahi Beverages reviews its agency roster.
Ant Keogh, through his new agency Kerfuffle, is understood to be going head-to-head with his former stomping grounds and incumbents Clemenger BBDO and Droga5 ANZ, in the hotly contested Asahi pitch that was revealed by Mumbrella on Friday.
Keogh, the mind behind Carlton Draught’s legendary “Big Ad,” will also face BMF Australia and Howatson & Co, all now in the running for the account.
Keogh reunited with his former C-suite colleagues, Paul McMillan and Michael Derepas, both ex-The Monkeys, to launch the independent creative agency Kerfuffle last year, following The Monkeys’ consolidation into Droga5 ANZ and Accenture Song.
Speaking about the new venture at the time, Keogh said the agency would be “unashamedly about creativity.” Since then, Kerfuffle has released its debut brand campaign, Get Your Pickle On, for Picklebet.
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The pitch is part of a comprehensive review of both creative and media by Japan-headquartered Asahi, which acquired Carlton & United Breweries in 2020 and owns other brands including Schweppes, Asahi Super Dry, and Mountain Goat.
Keogh’s Kerfuffle is “unashamedly about creativity”
Keogh himself has worked for CUB and Asahi, both in his capacity as chief creative officer of Clemenger BBDO and subsequently at The Monkeys, the latter of which he joined in 2017.
Prior to the Asahi takeover, Clemenger BBDO had overseen some of Australia’s biggest beer campaigns, managing iconic brands such as Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, and Great Northern.
Iconic among these are its long-running Made from Beer series, notably its “Slow Mo” ad and “Beer Chase”, a viral parody of a Hollywood car chase made for Carlton Draught in 2012
Shortly after Keogh’s departure to The Monkeys, the agency won a creative pitch for Asahi’s brands, including Asahi Super Dry, Cricketers Arms, and Mountain Goat.
After winning a pitch to join CUB’s roster alongside Clemenger BBDO in 2023, The Monkeys began releasing work for the Melbourne-based brewery, including its relaunch of Pure Blonde with “A Place Purer Than Yours” and building on Victoria Bitter’s “For A Hard Earned Thirst” platform.
At the end of last year, Keogh, McMillan and Derepas collectively announced their departures from the now Droga5 ANZ, officially opening Kerfuffle five months later.
As well as creative, Asahi is reviewing media, with long-time incumbent PHD Melbourne bowing out in favour of one of Omnicom’s newly-acquired IPD Mediabrands’ agencies, Mumbrella understands.
All agencies and Asahi Beverages have been contacted for comment.
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The thing people need to study about Keoghs work is..as written here…parody. All his work leverage and satirises existing advertising tropes trends and famous moments. And indeed parodies of movies and entertainment. Witness Big Ad which was a parody of British Airways. There’s nothing wrong with it. If that’s what a brand wants. But inventing new things is not his bag.