After the federal government released a frankly terrifying COVID vaccination ad earlier this month, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, of all organisations, has gone ahead and released its own wholesome and uplifting TV ad campaign. It’s really, really bloody good.
The ad features famous performers like Tim Minchin, Meow Meow, Virginia Gay, Tripod and Rhonda Burchmore as well as members of the Australian Ballet, the Melbourne Theatre Company and Short Black Opera, plus musicians from the the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra itself.
Instead of the usual spiel about rolling up your sleeves or whatever, this ad uses the theme of a performance to get Victorians excited about what things will look like once we’re all vaccinated and society can open up again.
“Dear Victoria, we know it’s been hard stuck inside for COVID lockdowns, it’s been hard for us too,” the performers say in the ad.
“Performing at home just isn’t the same. Every week Victoria’s arts community comes together to give you the performance of a lifetime, and now it’s your turn.
“We need you to come together and get vaccinated as soon as you’re eligible, to give us the performance of a lifetime.”
The ad makes the excellent point that some people simply can’t get vaccinated for whatever reason, and that’s why it’s up to the rest of us (in what those artsy types called “an ensemble effort”) to get that jab in order to achieve herd immunity for everyone.
“Our arts community is doing everything they can to recover and reactivate through the pandemic. I’m really proud to share this with you,” Victoria’s Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said on Twitter on Monday.
“Conceived and delivered by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the campaign encourages you to play your part and get vaccinated. By doing this you will be giving your community your ‘performance of a lifetime’.”
The creators of this ad finally brought Australia (or Victoria, at least) in line with the rest of the world in terms of using fun and uplifting vaccine ads instead of using scare tactics.
And thanks to their choice of talent from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Theatre Company, among others, the creators demonstrated that they know their target audience to a T: worried boomers who’re holding off on getting the jab.
Right now anyone who can get vaccinated should get vaccinated. But there’s been a noticeable trend among over-50s (who have long been eligible for the jab) holding off because they’re anxious or because they want to wait for Pfizer, instead of just getting AstraZeneca now.
If people keep holding off, they’ll end up holding us back.
It’s worth noting that your stereotypical anti-vaxxer is probably not a patron of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra or a fan of opera, but those kinds of people probably won’t be convinced by a TV ad anyway.
That’s apparently why this ad is aimed at the more reasonable folks who may be worried, but who can be persuaded into getting vaccinated, as we all should.
On that note, Aussies of all ages are currently able to ask a GP about getting the safe and effective AstraZeneca jab whenever they want. Alternatively, you can also triple-check to see if you’re eligible for the Pfizer jab here.
Just like the ad says: “Let’s give COVID its final curtain call.”
