Peter O'Brien plays Bill Brooker, the creative director at BND, a global advertising network whose Sydney office serves as the battleground for six half-hour episodes of corporate ruthlessness. Stephen Curry's McBaney and Gyton Grantley's Sumo navigate campaigns for Bob's Burgers and Láfinité Rejuvenale while Joel Tobeck's Martin Manning plummets from third to twenty-first in the creative rankings, his career flashing before his eyes as he wrestles with a lucrative overseas offer.
The series, shot in the actual offices of Blacksheep Productions on Mountain Street, Ultimo, punctuates its satire with surreal lazzi sequences where products animate before Martin's eyes, a juice carton suddenly proclaiming "Now with added goodatives" before reality snaps back. Guest stars including Guy Pearce and Claudia Karvan appear across the six episodes that aired from 7 September to 12 October 2009, each episode title mocking the very campaigns the agency creates.
Created by advertising insiders Tim Bullock, Justin Drape and Scott Nowell, the show exposes an industry where 25-year-old models are considered too old for anti-ageing campaigns and car companies spin their vehicles being voted "worst on emissions" into marketing gold. The 30-second commercial slots that give the series its name become both punchline and prison, as the BND team realises that selling their souls pays better than selling the truth.
Production Details
The Comedy Channel / 1 Season / 6 Episodes / 2009
Created by: Tim Bullock, Justin Drape, Scott Nowell
Writer(s): Tim Bullock Justin Drape Scott Nowell Andrew Knight
Main Cast
Peter O'Brien as Bill Brooker
Stephen Curry as McBaney
Gyton Grantley as Sumo
Joel Tobeck as Martin Manning
Abe Forsythe as Carl
Kat Stewart as Marion West
Emily Rose Brennan as Barbara Main
Jenna Lind as Kath Bullock
