‘That can’t be right’: Australian lamb ad takes on happiness list
The 2026 lamb ad launched this week is all about happiness and seems unlikely to spark too many complaints… except perhaps from Canberrans and Winter Olympians.
Source: Australian Lamb
The Australian lamb ad has become almost as synonymous with summer as backyard barbies and beach cricket.
There’s been some doozies over the past two decades – including the 2015 ad featuring cricket legend Richie Benaud, and a controversial commercial the following year with TV presenter Lee Lin Chin that provoked the ire of vegans.
The 2026 ad launched this week by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is all about happiness and seems unlikely to spark too many complaints… except perhaps from Canberrans and Winter Olympians.
“Lambassador” (and veteran sports commentator) Sam Kekovich is once again the main talent, this time portraying the “Leader of Australia’s Merriment and Bliss”, who is outraged to learn that Australia has dropped out of the top 10 happiest countries list for the first time ever.
“We’re not behind the Poms, are we?” asks his associate.
“God no,” is the reply.
You might like
(Hmm, perhaps the Brits might take some offence.)
The theme is inspired by the World Happiness Report’s rankings in 2025, which saw Finland take out top spot for the eighth year in a row and other Nordic nations rounding out the top four.
Australia came in at 11th, just pipping our New Zealand neighbours at 12th.
Happiness researchers identified a number of key factors that generally make people happier – such as social support, income and health – but MLA set out to prove “just how uniquely Aussie our version of happiness really is”.
The new ad is typically humorous and irreverent, while at the same time emphasising a message of togetherness that has been at the heart of many of the annual campaigns.
When the po-faced “international happiness auditors” venture Down Under, they’re taken on a whirlwind tour through Australian life and culture, from Hills Hoists, sprinklers and backyard cricket, to sausage sizzles at the hardware store. In between, of course, there are more lamb chops than you can poke your tongs at.
Stay informed, daily
“The other nations may be happier on paper, but we get paid more than New Zealanders for doing exactly the same jobs…,” says one of the hosts.
“And Sweden has saunas, but we’ve got Townsville. And Finland might enjoy unlimited parental leave – but can they pop down to the shops in their togs?”
Happiness is… going to the shops in your swimmers. Photo: supplied
Nathan Low, MLA’s general manager for marketing and insights, says the 2026 campaign celebrates “humour, camaraderie, and unmistakable Aussie spirit that keep us smiling every day”.
Australian Lamb conducted its own research (via YouGov), which concluded that the average score of happiness among the Aussies surveyed was “a solid 7.3 out of 10”, and spending time outdoors was a key feel-good factor.
“At first glance, the World Happiness Index might suggest Australians have lost their spark,” Low said.
“But our research tells a different story – happiness here isn’t about rankings, it’s about togetherness, shared experiences, and the simple joys that make life distinctly Aussie.”
The Australian lamb ads have been rolled out annually since 2005, when Kekovich delivered his first satirical monologue rallying against the “un-Australian”.
The 2024 ad celebrated the similarities of the different generations around a barbecue, and reportedly saw the volume of lamb purchased increase by 18.9 over the six-week campaign compared with the previous year.
Last year’s ad, titled The Comments Section, looked at the contrast between discourse in the online and real worlds.
“Come on everyone, get out of the comments and into the cutlets,” Kekovich urged in the ad, which won a Silver Lion at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity in France.
Speaking of comments, the early response to this year’s ad has been muted, although at least one social media user suggested happiness would come from winning the lottery so they could afford to buy lamb cutlets.
