Russell Coight returns in new Mitsubishi spot
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Using a famous character in advertising is a matter of balance, according to Adam Rose: the fame gets cut-through, but too much can overpower the brand.
Rose, chief creative at Richards Rose, says the balance has been struck in Mitsubishi Australia’s latest campaign featuring the inimitable Russell Coight.
The new campaign was created to promote Mitsubishi’s Triton ute, with Coight’s usual scepticism front and centre. He inadvertently proves that “nothing can frighten a Triton”. It follows on from a campaign in 2023 which saw Coight question Mitsubishi’s EV range.
“That campaign was hugely successful for Mitsubishi commercially, as well as culturally,” Rose said, reflecting on the 2023 work. “So bringing Russell back for a sequel has been an awesome opportunity.”
Coight, played by Australian actor and comedian Glenn Robbins, is on his usual form. While the Triton driver manages to make it past a road block, things don’t go so smoothly for the disaster-prone adventurer.
“This campaign is so authentic to his character that we’ve known for over 20 years. We didn’t have to change him in any way, and that’s why it works so well,” Rose said.
“When you have a property or a character like Russell, who is an icon, it does give you an unfair advantage,” he told Mumbrella. “That’s in terms of people leaning in and taking notice, wanting to watch your product.”
He said it is a fine balance, however, to ensure the celebrity or character doesn’t overpower the brand.
“You’ve seen it before, they overpower the spot to the point where you can only recall the celebrity, not the brand, not the product. Luckily, we didn’t find that at all with Russell,” Rose said.
“What we found instead was we actually got a really high attribution back to Mitsubishi, we really struck that balance.”
Bringing Coight back for the sequel was essentially a no-brainer for the agency, and for the Mitsubishi team.
“The dealers were really keen to bring him back because he had resonated so well with that first campaign. We just had to find the right script and angle to work with him again, but at the end of the day, we made a call as a team that our preference was to work with Russell again.”
Mitsubishi hopes it will perform like the first campaign, cutting through in the oversaturated category. With a number of Chinese automotive brands entering the Australian market, the competition has never been so tough.
The first part of the campaign has launched this week across TV, video, social, radio, OOH, in-store, and on owned channels.
Credits:
Client: Mitsubishi Motors Australia
Chief Executive Officer: Shaun Westcott
Co-Chief Operating Officer: Rob Nazzari
General Manager, Marketing & Corporate Affairs: Sam Wight
Group Marketing Manager – Marketing & Corporate Affairs: Amy Hooper
Marketing Manager – Brand Marketing & Corporate Affairs: Kate Sellar
Agency: Richards Rose
Chief Creative Officer: Adam Rose
Senior Art Director: Liam Hillier
Head of Production: Tanya Hairman
Producer: Taylor Gooley
Head of Account Management: Kristen Sandberg
Chief Executive Officer: Digby Richards
Junior Writer: Jack Bennett
Studio Manager: Alistair Donald
Production Company: Working Dog
Writer/Director: Tom Gleisner
Writer/Director: Santo Cilauro
Executive Producers: Michael Hirsh & Phil Simon
Production Company: Clockwork Films
Director: Justin McMillian
Producer: Alan Robinson
DOP: Earle Dresner
Editor: Lucas Vazquez
Post-Production: White Chocolate
Music: Massive Music
Sound Designer: Simon Kane
Photographer: Nicholas Wilson
Media: Wavemaker Adelaide
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