Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Australia Post – Animation (c.1988)

A video which normally appears on this page did not load because the Flash plug-in was not found on your computer. You can download and install the free Flash plug-in then view the video. Or you can view the same video as a downloadable MP4 file without installing the Flash plug-in.

Email a link to this page
To:
CC:
Subject:
Body:
clip FaxPost education content clip 3

Original classification rating: G. This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

This is an Australia Post television commercial (TVC) promoting the Faxpost and Lettergram service. Not strictly animation, the footage has been shot at low speed to create the impression of very high speed travel through empty Sydney CBD streets. The footage is shot from the point-of-view of a motor vehicle driver, the soundtrack consisting entirely of the gears changing and the roar of the engine. A caption at the bottom of frame spells out that it’s no longer necessary to drive like this, as Faxpost and Lettergram deliver in two hours to anywhere in Australia.

Curator’s notes

Three versions of this TVC were produced: this 60 second version for both Faxpost and Lettergram, and two cutdown 30 second versions – one for Faxpost and one for Lettergram. They were produced for Australia Post by Clemengers Melbourne (now Clemenger BBDO Melbourne) and on-lined on 9 June 1989 at AAV (its digital media services are now part of the Omnilab Media Group).

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows a television advertisement for Australia Post filmed in the streets of Sydney from the point of view of the driver of a motorcycle travelling at high speed. The soundtrack contains only the sound of the bike and the advertisement’s message, in white subtitles tells viewers not to drive dangerously, as communications can be delivered to ‘virtually anywhere in Australia’ within 2 hours by Australia Post’s Lettergram and FaxPost services.

Educational value points

  • This television commercial ‘drives its advertising message home’, using experiential and entertaining methods. The viewer is placed in the driver’s seat and this viewpoint and the unrelenting sound of the motor hold the viewer’s attention while the message appears silently in white subtitles. The message is conveyed cleverly, as the film enacts the kind of activity that the advertiser discourages in the subtitles.
  • The advertisement uses humour to ‘sell’ the FaxPost and Lettergram services. This is apparent in the ironic punchline, ‘Maybe you should walk there’, which is shown towards the end, after the entire commercial has focused on a vehicle travelling at high speed.
  • A ‘fast-motion’ technique was used for this advertisement. It involved running the camera at a slow speed when filming – for example, at 12 frames per second (fps) instead of 25 fps – and then playing the film back at normal speed. 'Fast motion’ is an old method of producing a special effect; originally, special effects had to be created during filming, in the camera, or optically printed in a laboratory. Today, virtually all special effects are computer generated.
  • This television commercial, devised by Clemengers Melbourne, is a response to the challenge of advertising a service rather than a product. The qualities of a service such as Lettergram or FaxPost are not as easily appreciated or conveyed as the qualities of a tangible product. The commercial illustrates the benefits of Australia Post services in an inventive way by taking viewers on a filmic journey.
  • This Australia Post advertisement uses subtitles to acknowledge the ‘unsafe’ driving practice shown and incorporates it as an entertaining element. Like all public media in Australia, television networks are bound by censorship regulations and industry codes of practice that prohibit or deter the representation of inappropriate behaviour.
  • Australia Post offers electronic services such as FaxPost, which is useful for business although not as widely used since the advent of more advanced electronic services. FaxPost conveys documents delivered to Australia Post to a recipient’s machine or in print form via a local Australia Post facsimile service. FaxPost messages can be delivered nationally and internationally.
  • This advertisement shows two of the numerous services provided in the late 1980s by Australia Post, one of Australia’s largest government organisations. From the first tiny, one-person post office in Sydney in 1809, the organisation grew and adapted to changes in communications technology until by 2000 it had achieved an annual profit of $402 million before tax. By 1989 Australia Post had become a Government Business Enterprise, trading as a corporation and with a board of directors accountable to the Australian Government.

Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer FaxPost from the advertisement Australia Post – Animation as a high quality video download.

To play the downloadable video, you need QuickTime 7.0, VLC, or similar.

You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before downloading the clip:

australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

This clip is available in the following configurations:

File nameSizeQualitySuitability
apostani3_pr.mp4 Large: 7.4MB High Optimised for full-screen display on a fast computer.
apostani3_bb.mp4 Medium: 3.5MB Medium Can be displayed full screen. Also suitable for video iPods.

Right-click on the links above to download video files to your computer.

Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer this clip in an embeddable format for personal or non-commercial educational use in full form on your own website or your own blog.

You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before embedding the clip:

australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

Copy and paste the following code into your own web page to embed this clip: