Political

Gruen Planet: laugh while learning about how advertising works

Gruen Planet - shot of the panel

I’ve always thought that the Gruen Transfer (the name of the first four series) / Gruen Planet format, with its mix of humour and explanation of how advertising works, would work really well in countries other than its home base of Australia.

Gruen Planet Series 1 -  DVD boxAlthough other TV series formats have been widely exported and remade for specific countries, Gruen’s format of host, panel of four, questions about advertising or stories in the news and plenty of jokes in amongst the serious answers remains an Australian-only option. But modern advertising – and communications more generally – is enough of an international enterprise that most of the jokes and most of the education works just as well for a non-Australian audience too.

By the time of this series, the interplay of host and panel regulars Wil Anderson, Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft is well established and Russel Howcroft now does a neat line in caricaturing himself (at least I hope he’s caricaturing himself!). Along with a rotating group of two extra guests, they take a look mainly at the Australian advertising market, but with quite a few global brands – and Vladimir Putin – regularly thrown in.

If you like this, you might also be interested in Gruen Transfer: Series 3.

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Buy Gruen Planet, Series 1 here.

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