The MSO Has Launched a New Vaccination-Focused Advertising Campaign Featuring Local Artists

It stars a diverse cast of local artists and arts organisations, encouraging Aussies to band together with an 'ensemble effort' to 'give COVID its final curtain call'.
Libby Curran
July 20, 2021

It's safe to say that Australia's COVID-19 vaccination rollout hasn't been all smooth sailing. Nor has it come without its (unfair) share of highly divided opinions. But, we can all agree that getting back to a world where we're all able to do the things we love would be very nice, indeed.

For many, the arts industry is one of the biggest things we've sorely been missing in the last 18 months, and it's also one of the sectors that has been hit the hardest by the pandemic. This was the catalyst for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's compelling new ad campaign aimed at overcoming vaccine hesitancy in Australia.

The Performance of a Lifetime was created with the help of a diverse cast of local artists and arts organisations in order to encourage audiences to get on board and get vaccinated when they're eligible. Its message? The sooner people play their part and get their jab — aka the performance of a lifetime — the sooner we can all get back to doing what we love. Best of all, it ditches any alarmist chat in favour of clear, straightforward messaging and a hopeful outlook.

Musical comedy trio Tripod, who appeared in the ad, summarised the sentiment nicely in a media statement: "The sooner everyone mucks in and gets the jab, the sooner the arts community can get back to what we do best — providing a focal point for communities to gather, so we can all share our joy at being alive on this big, stupid planet."

The two-minute-long ad features a rollcall of other familiar faces from Melbourne's music, theatre, dance and performance communities, including iconic entertainer Rhonda Burchmore OAM, composer and soprano Deborah Cheetham AO, and actress Virginia Gay. You'll also spy appearances from members of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Theatre Company, The Australian Ballet and national Indigenous opera company Short Black Opera.

As comedian and songwriter Tim Minchin said in a statement, "Get vaccinated Aussies…as soon as you possibly can. Let's show this fucking bug the door."

You can check out the full 'Performance of a Lifetime' ad video here on YouTube.

Published on July 20, 2021 by Libby Curran
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