Mojo (advertising)
| Company type | Advertising agency |
|---|---|
| Industry | Advertising |
| Founded | 1979 in Sydney, Australia |
| Founder | Alan Morris, Allan Johnston |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Fate | Acquired by Foote, Cone & Belding |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
| Products | Advertising campaigns |
Mojo was an Australian advertising agency established in Sydney in 1979 by Alan Morris ("Mo") and Allan Johnston ("Jo"). Its heritage lives on through the Australian branches of Publicis, part of the French multinational Publicis Groupe, which operated under the name Publicis Mojo from the late 1990s until 2016.
Founding and style
Johnston, a native of Adelaide, and Morris, from Sydney, began working together during the mid-1970s at Sydney’s Hertz Walpole agency. Johnston had been employed there since 1968, while Morris contributed as a freelancer. Their successful advertising work for clients such as Meadow Lea margarine with the slogan "You oughta be congratulated" and Tooheys beer’s "How do you feel?" campaign motivated them to depart Hertz Walpole and launch their own consultancy, Mojo. By 1979, Mojo had expanded into a comprehensive advertising agency, securing accounts including Meadow Lea and Tooheys.
Throughout the 1980s, Mojo emerged as Sydney’s foremost creative agency, delivering memorable campaigns like the World Series Cricket anthem "C'mon Aussie C'mon" and the Australian Tourism Commission advertisement featuring Paul Hogan’s famous line "put another shrimp on the barbie."
Mojo’s advertising approach was characterized by informal, playful television commercials with catchy jingles often performed in Jo’s recognizable "gravelly" voice. This style stood in stark contrast to the traditionally formal and British-influenced tone prevalent in Australian advertising at that time. Campaigns such as "I'm as Australian as Ampol", "Hit 'em with the Old Pea Beu" (insecticide), "Everybody loves Speedo", "I Can Feel a Fourex Coming on", and "Every Amco tells a Story" (Amco jeans) highlighted Mojo’s emphasis on authentic Australian language and accent during the 1980s.
Corporate evolution
The company combined forces with Melbourne-based agency Monaghan Dayman Adams to form MojoMDA. In 1988, it was honored as International Advertising Agency of the Year by Advertising Age.
By 1989, MojoMDA Ltd had grown into Australia’s largest advertising firm with billings reaching $180 million and was subsequently acquired by Los Angeles agency Chiat\Day. However, this merger did not succeed, leading Chiat/Day to sell Mojo in 1992 to Foote, Cone & Belding. The Mojo brand name continued until 2016 within the Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne offices of Publicis Mojo, subsidiaries of the French global advertising group Publicis Groupe.
Notable campaigns
- Put another Shrimp on the barbie promoting travel to Australia for the Australian Tourism Commission
- C'mon Aussie, C'mon promoting World Series Cricket for the Nine Network
- I feel like a Tooheys
- I Still Call Australia Home to promote Qantas
- You ought to be congratulated to promote Meadow Lea margarine
- I Got It Made promoting healthy food choices for Subway restaurants in Australia and New Zealand
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||
| "C'mon Aussie C'mon" | 1978 | 1 |
| "C'mon Aussie C'mon" (The New Era) | 1979 | 10 |
Further reading
- Coombs, Ann "Adland: An Authentic Account of Corporate Drama" (William Heinemann Australia, Melbourne 1990).