Bigpond, Telstra‘s internet service provider in Australia, has been connecting its broadband services with education, with the memorable ‘Great Wall of China’ television commercial. A man (played by Patrick O’Meara) drives with his son in the passenger seat working on a school project.
“Dad. Why did they build the Great Wall of China?”
“That, that was, during the time of the Emperor Nasi Goreng. And, ah, it was to keep the rabbits out. Too many rabbits, in China.”
The next scene features the boy in his classroom, with the voice of his teacher saying, “OK. Now Daniel will do his talk on China.”
The voiceover: “Give your kids the right answers, get them broadband.”
So what would happen if the boy had access to Broadband? He’d discover that the wall was built mainly to keep out the Mongol invaders. He’d discover that Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian dish. Construction of the Great Wall of China began with under the Zhou Dynsasty when vassal states each built their own walls. Under the Qin Dynasty the walls were united, a symbol of the now united China. The wall was renovated during the Ming Dynasty.
As to rabbits in China? Calcivirus was first noticed by scientists in China in 1984. The virus has since wiped out 95 % of feral rabbits in parts of China.
Credits
The Bigpond Education campaign was developed in 2005 by Belgiovane Williams Mackay by executive creative director Rob Belgiovane, creative directors Adam Hunt and Mike Boswell, art directors/copywriters Matt Lawson and Onur Kece, agency producer Georgie Gordon and account supervisor Simon Hadfield. Lawson and Kece have since moved to work with BMF.
Filming was directed by Vikki Blanche at Radical Media, Sydney, with director of photography Graeme Wood and producer Peter Kearney.
Editor was Seth Lockwood at MRPPP. Sound was produced at Sound Reservoir by James Martell.
Hi, did you know that many teenagers across Australia now think that there really was an emperor Nasi (or Nazi) Goreng! Most of my daughter’s friends believe the Dad in the Ad! Will you be doing a follow up to put things right?? The take home message is that kids get most of their information from ads, not the internet! I do love the ad myself though! xx Linda
Who is the actor who plays the Dad in the Great Wall of China Bigpond advert?
Dad, you know that if you search you up on Google, this is the first thing that comes up?? I would’ve thourght it would be, like, some churchy thing or something >.< …. anywho, BYEEE
PS: Also, I have no idea who plays that guy… O.o
In the first paragraph it says: A man (played by Patrick O’Meara) drives with his son in the passenger seat working on a school project.
Read Dad, don’t just look at the pictures
Linda,
FYI , Nasi goreng is Fried Rice in Indonesian.
Does not have any relation whatsoever to Nazi
Could you please tell me the name of the actor (father) in the Rabbits add as one of my friends reckons it is Bob Fulton (Rugby League Legend)???
Thanks
G.W.
Where can I download this add from?
Regards
Tim
It’s not Bob Fulton. The dad is a freelance actor called Patrick. i know this because the boy in the ad is my son. Thanks Sandi
Is the dad in this ad the same guy as the dad driving in the van in the “ive been every where and when” singing telstra ad?
Much appreciated, Jess
who sings the song in the telstra add when they are in a van singing “iv been everywhere man” etc etc. whats the name of the song?? pleasee help us!
thanks muchly!
xoxoxoxoxoxox
This concept was already done by Apple years ago for their mac education-internet campaign. For those who don’t remember, there were 3 ads. A child ask his father at a baseball game “dad, what makes a curveball curve?” dad pretends he knows the answer. A girl asks mum at the beach “mum, how come fish don’t drown?”. Another boy asks his dad “what are stars made of?”.
Don’t get wrong though, I do like the Telstra ad and have heard that it won some awards. But it wasn’t anything special since I’d already seen the Apple ads.
I can post the apple ones on youtube if anyone is interested. You’ll have to forgive the quality as they’re quite old.
Hey Ash and Gem,
The song is called “I’ve Been Everywhere”. The version that’s in the ads is one with Aussie place names, and I’m sorry, but I couldnn’t tell you who does that. But the original, I’m pretty sure, is by Johnny Cash.
Hahah. Well, what do you know, I’m wrong! The original apparently *is* the Aussie version!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I've_Been_Everywhere
Did the boy’s name change from Billy to Daniel cos i swear it did!
No the name has always been Daniel. Also to answer another question, it’s the same dad driving the kombi van.
i ve been everywhere man song is australian and i am sure the singer is lucky star ahit in 1960s
Would you be able to tell me what the guy who is driving the van’s real name is? full name. We have a bet riding on this one!!!!
thanks
I would also like to know the actors name of the dad. He looks very different in the two ads. I’m sure they are two different actors.
Could you please tell me who the actor is in the bigpond ad about the great wall of china and emporoR Nasi Gorang.
Thanks Chris
I like emo..
I hear that there’s a new saying in the Aussie lingo:
“Too many rabbits!”
Not sure how it’s used but I like it!
Where can I download this add from please?
Regards
FT
the guy off the i’ve been everywhere man ad is a fkn sexy faggit xx
Is the guy in the ad Bobby Fulton (league legend)? We also got a bet on this one!
Is the dad in the Bigpond Rabbits in China ad the same actor as the dad in the Bigpond I’ve been everywhere ad ?? To settle a bet. Many thanks, Mark.
Yes, it is *definitely* the same actor in both ads.
The song is a reworded version of the aussie original, which has also been rewritten for a number of other countries.
How old is the guy in the ad -- he looks 60! And his kid is about 8, shouldn’t he be his grandad? I realise we live in a new age and geriactic men having kids is not unheard of, but seriously? does this bother anyone else?
Is this the same father as the one in the collingwood telstra ad?
Great ads!
Is there anywhere we can download the “My Dad plays for Collingwood!” ad?
Eric
Could you please let me know is the guy who plays the father in the ad Great Wall of China Bobby Fulton (league legend)? Have a bet on this one!
Is Bobby Fulton the father in the add Great Wall of China have a bet with my dad.
The father is played by an actor called Patrick O’Meara.
Does anyone know where I can download an actual savable copy of this Ad? My daughter is using it for a Scial Studies assignment and can’t access the web during the presentation.
I have tried ScreenRecorder Gold but my free version won’t capture the sound properly
Thanks in advance for any help.
--
Rx
“ive been everywhere” was written by Geoff Mack and originaly sang by Slim Dusty
I think Telstra should get paid from Department of Education for their contribution to teach teenagers…..
I’m also interested in copies of the “Rabbits” ad and the “Played for Collingwood” ad….. where can I get?
Hi Im commenting on the ad with the dad and son.Grant Goldman says he has it on good authority that it is Bobby Fulton.Grant is a radio announcer on in the morning 2EL.iHAVE SENT HIM ANEMAIL LETTING HIM KNOW ,BECAUSE one of his listeners rang and told him but he said she was wrong.Grant hasnt acknowledged my email to him and Iam unable to rin g him as Iam at work at that time.Would any body else be game emough to ring him,cheers
He’s an unknown actor. Well, he was unknown, now he isn’t. In fact he was a postie before the ads, he was cast by the director Vikki -- who’s brilliant at casting unknown ‘real’ people into ads.
I’m one of the writers on the campaign so I hope that settles it for y’all.
Have a good one!
Where can i download a copy of this to put into Windows Media player. Its my dads 50th, and for his surprise party we are putting together a slide show, and this is one of his favourite ads, and is something he would do. and i would love to know how to do it.. please help!!
Dear insider, I am using this ad as a case study for thesis on the effectiveness of humour in advertising. Would love to speak to you or send you a few questions about the process? Any assistance, suggestions you could offer with this would save my life. Well make it easier at least.
Has anyone found a way of downloading a copy of the ad as yet?
If so I would love the secret.
I would just like to let everyone know that if you read under the pictures it actually says who the dad is, Patrick O’Meara. Not that stupid ex-rugby player Bob Fulton. If you google him then look at that picture you can see it’s not him.
And for all those idiots out there, perhaps if you want to post a question, you might actually READ the other comments to see if your question is already posted. I.e. The whole dad name debate.
Thankyou for providing me with some entertainment.
I enjoyed reading all the idiots who kept posting “Who’s the dad?” after it being posted clearly on the site and answered 3 times.
There’s a bastard copy of this commercial in Chile. Exact same idea, except the kid asks why the Pisa Tower is inclined. Daddy answers it’s because there was a pizza place years ago and a fat man leaned on it. Same ending too, the kid is asked in class about it and is very proud of daddy’s “knowledge”.
Cheers
Re the Telstra ad “I’ve been everywhere man”. Someone from overseas is trying to find out where the little weatherboard church is that appears in that ad. Apparently the van did a u-turn around this church. Can you tell me who the advertising agency is and perhaps I can forward their details on to this person so he can inquire.
Thanks.
well Im told it is the Sandgate Baptist church http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigjewell/2188511880/
Try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mr-USVEcMI
Better still open keepvid.com and paste the above URL into the nominated space and it will download as a flash video and an mpeg4.
Good luck, I hope that this is helpful.
For those asking for the name of the man who portrays the father in this ad, I highly recommend you read the article, as it is mentioned in the VERY FIRST SENTENCE!
They commented in 2006. It’s likely that the article was changed then.
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