Mitsubishi Australia has enlisted the ‘expertise’ of Russell Coight for its latest ad campaign.
The three-part TV ad campaign follows the character, portrayed by Glenn Robbins, and a couple of “city slickers” driving a Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid EV across the Australian outback.
If you’ve ever watched an episode of All Aussie Adventures, which aired in the early 2000s, you’d understand the character’s humour and staged chaos that happens throughout his adventures. If you haven’t, YouTube is your friend.
Now, back to the new campaign… for anyone who isn’t Russell Coight, you will know the difference between an electric vehicle charging cord and a snake.
The first skit follows the character searching for “unwanted guests” in and around the Outlander. He makes the discovery of what he believes is an Inland Black Snake only for it to be the SUV’s charging cable.
In the 2000s TV show, Mr Coight travels Australia in his Toyota LandCruiser. In the ad, his chariot is a first-generation Mitsubishi Pajero.
“This big brown land, which is sometimes red with bits of green is no place for hipsters in electric vehicles,” says Coight.
The ad campaign follows the couple through water crossings – albeit a very small amount of water, if enough to kick up a splash – which to the average punter plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle owner probably wouldn’t be a day-to-day occurrence.
The campaign ends with Mr Coight in the second row of the SUV asking for a drive of the Outlander, after his Pajero presumably carks it.
On the ad’s website, only a true blue Aussie would be able to translate the slang used.
Mitsubishi claims the PHEV “lets you have your damper, and eat it too”, while being “silent and stealthy like a Kakadu crocodile.”
“Hoo-roo range anxiety,” Mitsubishi declares, claiming the Outlander PHEV “can drive to the back of Bourke and beyond”.
Let us know your thoughts on Russell Coight’s return to the small screen in the comments below.
