This outdoor apparel brand’s new ad is a real cliffhanger
A trio of hikers cling to Macpac gear for dear life in a wry commercial from The Monkeys

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Acrophobics will want to steer clear of the new Macpac ad in New Zealand. But everyone else will get a kick out of the deadpan banter from three hikers stuck in a rather difficult position—with a Macpac jacket key to the survival of at least one of them.
The absurdity of the visual enhances the comedy, as the three friends are all-too-nonchalant about their predicament. The spot, created by agency The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, was directed by Damien Shatford from Sweetshop.
“We watched Cliffhanger, and Cliffhanger 2 (2 Cliff, 2 Hanger) and realized cliffhanger moments are called so for a reason—you can’t look away,” said Hugh Gurney, creative director at The Monkeys Melbourne. “So, we just added a Macpac jacket, some deadpan Kiwi delivery and a little special Shatford sauce and it ended up pretty great.”
“Macpac gear is designed and tested by some of New Zealand’s best alpinists in some of the world’s toughest environments, so it’s great to demonstrate this in such a distinctive and memorable way,” added Maria Glass, acting general manager of marketing at the client.
The campaign extends to TV, outdoor, social, online and in-store.
Credits
- Date
- Mar 20, 2023
- Client :
- Macpac
- Agency :
- The Monkeys
- Managing Director :
- Cathy Seaholme
- General Manager of Marketing :
- Maria Glass
- Chief Executive Officer :
- Paul McMillan
- Chief Creative Officer :
- Ant Keogh
- Chief Strategy Officer :
- Michael Derepas
- Strategy Director :
- Dave Collins
- Creative Director :
- Hugh Gurney
- Creative Director :
- Joe Sibley
- Head of Production / Producer :
- Romanca Mundrea
- Production Coordinator :
- Genya Mik
- Group Account Director :
- Vicky Mockler
- Account Director :
- Ella Goldberg
- Account Director :
- Jenny McLarney
- Account Manager :
- Grace Tenaglia
- Media Agency :
- OMD
- Production Company :
- Sweetshop
- Director :
- Damien Shatford
- Producer :
- Katie Kempe
- Managing Director/Exec Producer :
- Edward Pontifex
- Executive Producer :
- Greg Fyson
- Executive Producer :
- Ben Dailey
- Executive Producer :
- Kate Roydhouse
- DOP :
- James Brown
- Editor :
- Simon Price
- Colorist :
- Matic Prusnik
- Online/VFX :
- Stuart Bedford
- Sound House :
- Squeak E. Clean Studios
- Sound Design :
- Paul LeCouteur
- Sound Design :
- Ceri Davies
- Photographer :
- Vaughan Brookfield
- Retoucher :
- Dave Mercer
- Stills Producer :
- Katherine Muir
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