Gruen (TV series)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Gruen
The Gruen Transfer logo
Also known as
  • The Gruen Transfer
  • Gruen Nation
  • Gruen Planet
  • Gruen Sweat
Created by
Directed byMark Fitzgerald
Presented byWil Anderson
Starring
ComposerDavid Chapman
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of series15
No. of episodes167 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Andrew Denton
  • Anita Jacoby
  • Debbie Cuell
  • Polly Connolly
  • Richard Huddleston
  • Sophia Zachariou
  • Wil Anderson
  • Nick Murray
  • Nick Hayden
Producers
  • Jon Casimir
  • Amelia Barry
  • Sophie Braham
  • Sarah Douglas
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time35 minutes
Production companyCJZ
Original release
Network
ABC
Release28 May 2008 (2008-05-28) –
present

Gruen (previously known as The Gruen Transfer) is an Australian television program focusing on advertising, which debuted on the

George Patterson Y&R) and Todd Sampson (previously of Leo Burnett
).

The title refers to the Gruen transfer, the response to designed disorientation cues in retail environments.[2]

The show's debut episode drew an audience of nearly 1.3 million, the highest debut for an entertainment program in the ABC's history.[3] The concept has been sold to TV production companies in the UK, Denmark, France, Italy, Portugal, South Africa and Spain; however, the program itself seems to be unavailable in those markets and is blocked on YouTube and Apple's iTunes store, with the message "Viewable in Australia only".

The Gruen Transfer was nominated for an

AFI award for Best Light Entertainment Television Series in 2008.[4]

A spinoff series, Gruen Nation, aired during the

Gruen Planet, took over from the fourth series of The Gruen Transfer on 28 September 2011, focusing on corporate and government global media strategies and public relations.[5] Another spinoff series entitled Gruen Sweat examining the branding and marketing of the 2012 London Olympics began airing from 25 July 2012.[6][7]
The spinoff series titled Gruen began airing on 9 September 2015, following the original concept of The Gruen Transfer series.

Format

Current segments include:

Gruen Nation

A spin-off series called Gruen Nation was aired during the 2010 federal election campaign.[10] The first episode aired on 28 July 2010 at 9 pm. The series concluded on 18 August 2010. Each 45-minute episode was hosted by Wil Anderson with regular Gruen Transfer guests Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft and guests John Hewson, leader of the federal Liberal party 1990–94, Neil Lawrence, "Kevin 07" campaign co-ordinator, and Annabel Crabb, journalist and political commentator.[11] Anderson said "If the ABC is the national broadcaster, then Gruen Nation is the national bullshit detector."[12]

Gruen Planet

A spin-off called Gruen Planet was announced to replace series 4 of The Gruen Transfer, with a broader landspace.[13] The first episode of the first series premiered on 28 September 2011 with 1.138 million viewers, rating fourth viewed show of the week. The second series began airing on 22 August 2012 following the conclusion of Gruen Sweat.[14]

Segments included:

Gruen Sweat

A third spin-off series, titled Gruen Sweat, aired throughout the 2012 Summer Olympics. The four-episode series premiered on 25 July 2012 to 931,000 viewers.[14][15]

Gruen

A spin-off called Gruen was announced to replace Gruen Planet. The first episode of the first series premiered on 9 September 2015 with 974,000 viewers, ranking as the fourth-most-viewed show of the week. Despite the revised name, there are only extremely minor changes implemented for Gruen. All episodes are hosted by Wil Anderson and feature Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft.

Panelists

Panelists have included: Karen Ferry,[16] Christina Aventi,[17] Dee Madigan,[18] Emily Taylor,[19] Pia Chaudhuri, Carolyn Miller, Adam Ferrier, Sunita Gloster, Lauren Zonfrillo, Priya Patel, Annie O'Rourke, Camey O'Keefe, Kirsty Muddle and others.

Episodes

SeriesTitleEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1The Gruen Transfer1028 May 2008 (2008-05-28)30 July 2008 (2008-07-30)
21018 March 2009 (2009-03-18)20 May 2009 (2009-05-20)
316616 June 2010 (2010-06-16)21 July 2010 (2010-07-21)
Gruen Nation428 July 2010 (2010-07-28)18 August 2010 (2010-08-18)
The Gruen Transfer625 August 2010 (2010-08-25)29 September 2010 (2010-09-29)
4The Gruen Transfer1683 August 2011 (2011-08-03)21 September 2011 (2011-09-21)
Gruen Planet828 September 2011 (2011-09-28)16 November 2011 (2011-11-16)
5Gruen Sweat14425 July 2012 (2012-07-25)15 August 2012 (2012-08-15)
Gruen Planet1022 August 2012 (2012-08-22)24 October 2012 (2012-10-24)
6Gruen Nation12414 August 2013 (2013-08-14)4 September 2013 (2013-09-04)
Gruen Planet811 September 2013 (2013-09-11)30 October 2013 (2013-10-30)
7Gruen109 September 2015 (2015-09-09)11 November 2015 (2015-11-11)
8103 August 2016 (2016-08-03)5 October 2016 (2016-10-05)
91013 September 2017 (2017-09-13)16 October 2017 (2017-10-16)
10102 May 2018 (2018-05-02)4 July 2018 (2018-07-04)
111025 September 2019 (2019-09-25)27 November 2019 (2019-11-27)
121014 October 2020 (2020-10-14)16 December 2020 (2020-12-16)
131013 October 2021 (2021-10-13)15 December 2021 (2021-12-15)
14Gruen Nation10211 May 2022 (2022-05-11)18 May 2022 (2022-05-18)
Gruen87 June 2022 (2022-06-07)27 July 2022 (2022-07-27)
15Gruen921 June 2023 (2023-06-21)16 August 2023 (2023-08-16)

Series 1 (2008)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)The PitchOriginal air dateViewers
11BeerWhale meat28 May 2008 (2008-05-28)1,287,000[20][21]
22
Undies
Holidaying in Baghdad4 June 2008 (2008-06-04)1,273,000[22]
33BanksCelibacy11 June 2008 (2008-06-11)1,121,000[23]
44ChocolateThe Democrat Party18 June 2008 (2008-06-18)1,204,000[24]
55
plastic bags
25 June 2008 (2008-06-25)1,182,000[25]
66Feminine hygienePro-child labour2 July 2008 (2008-07-02)1,058,000[26]
77Road safetyInvade New Zealand9 July 2008 (2008-07-09)1,302,000[27]
88
Global warming
16 July 2008 (2008-07-16)1,314,000[28]
99Skin careBuy Nothing Day23 July 2008 (2008-07-23)1,386,000[29]
1010CannesStop Australian tourism30 July 2008 (2008-07-30)1,456,000[30]

Series 2 (2009)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)The PitchOriginal air dateViewers
111AustraliaPro-nuclear power18 March 2009 (2009-03-18)1,120,000[31]
122Oral hygieneHating Don Bradman25 March 2009 (2009-03-25)1,151,000[32]
133Bottled waterSelling ice to Eskimos1 April 2009 (2009-04-01)976,000[33]
144
Synchronised swimming for males
8 April 2009 (2009-04-08)1,087,000[34]
155Weight lossDonate to CEOs15 April 2009 (2009-04-15)1,212,000[35]
166Breakfast cerealPlastic surgery for children22 April 2009 (2009-04-22)1,244,000[36]
177TobaccoGive the 2012 Summer Olympics to Australia29 April 2009 (2009-04-29)1,226,000[37]
188"Yourself" (CEOs appearing in their own companies' advertising)Cane toads as pets6 May 2009 (2009-05-06)1,211,000[38]
199MeatFat pride (removed from broadcast edition)13 May 2009 (2009-05-13)1,239,000[39]
2010HamburgersBan public holidays20 May 2009 (2009-05-20)1,312,000[40]

Series 3 (2010)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
211Cleaning products16 June 2010 (2010-06-16)1,177,000[41]
222FIFA World Cup23 June 2010 (2010-06-23)1,227,000[42]
233MasterChef Australia30 June 2010 (2010-06-30)1,407,000[43]
244Deodorant7 July 2010 (2010-07-07)1,197,000[44]
2553D television14 July 2010 (2010-07-14)1,341,000[45]
266"Non-drinking"21 July 2010 (2010-07-21)1,280,000[46]
277Gruen Nation (2010 Australian federal election)28 July 2010 (2010-07-28)1,600,000[47]
288Gruen Nation (Australian federal election, 2010)4 August 2010 (2010-08-04)1,503,000[48]
299Gruen Nation (Australian federal election, 2010)11 August 2010 (2010-08-11)1,571,000[49]
3010Gruen Nation (Australian federal election, 2010)18 August 2010 (2010-08-18)1,540,000[50]
3111Milk25 August 2010 (2010-08-25)1,358,000[51]
3212Shaving1 September 2010 (2010-09-01)1,391,000[52]
3313Religion8 September 2010 (2010-09-08)1,482,000[53]
3414Insurance15 September 2010 (2010-09-15)1,407,000[54]
3515Infomercials22 September 2010 (2010-09-22)1,448,000[55]
3616Airlines29 September 2010 (2010-09-29)1,403,000[56]

Series 4 (2011)

The first eight episodes in 2011 were branded The Gruen Transfer; from the ninth episode, they were titled Gruen Planet.

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
371Supermarkets3 August 2011 (2011-08-03)1,072,000[57]
382Banks (part 2)10 August 2011 (2011-08-10)1,114,000[58]
393Animal rights, pillows17 August 2011 (2011-08-17)1,120,000[59]
404Condoms24 August 2011 (2011-08-24)1,017,000[60]
415Snack bars31 August 2011 (2011-08-31)1,165,000[61]
426Billboards7 September 2011 (2011-09-07)1,164,000[62]
437Shampoo14 September 2011 (2011-09-14)1,269,000[63]
448Sports betting21 September 2011 (2011-09-21)1,162,000[64]
459Foreign-owned beer brands28 September 2011 (2011-09-28)1,138,000[65]
4610
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
5 October 2011 (2011-10-05)1,130,000[66]
4711Apple Inc.12 October 2011 (2011-10-12)1,023,000[67]
4812British royal family19 October 2011 (2011-10-19)1,110,000[68]
4913Hungry Jack's26 October 2011 (2011-10-26)1,160,000[69]
5014Qantas2 November 2011 (2011-11-02)1,050,000[70]
5115Kim Kardashian9 November 2011 (2011-11-09)1,180,000[71]
5216Tiger Woods, Islam16 November 2011 (2011-11-16)1,170,000[72]

Series 5 (2012)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
531Gruen Sweat (2012 Summer Olympics)25 July 2012 (2012-07-25)931,000[73]
542Gruen Sweat (2012 Summer Olympics)1 August 2012 (2012-08-01)793,000[74]
553Gruen Sweat (2012 Summer Olympics)8 August 2012 (2012-08-08)794,000[75]
564Gruen Sweat (2012 Summer Olympics)15 August 2012 (2012-08-15)918,000[76]
575Crown Casino22 August 2012 (2012-08-22)[14]906,000[77]
586Doug Pitt29 August 2012 (2012-08-29)810,000[78]
597Lance Armstrong5 September 2012 (2012-09-05)917,000[79]
608"IheartRine..."[80][non-primary source needed]12 September 2012 (2012-09-12)939,000[81]
619People smuggling19 September 2012 (2012-09-19)946,000[82]
6210iPhone 526 September 2012 (2012-09-26)913,000[83]
6311Alan Jones3 October 2012 (2012-10-03)1,023,000[84]
6412Church of Scientology10 October 2012 (2012-10-10)997,000[85]
6513Newspapers17 October 2012 (2012-10-17)1,018,000[86]
6614Red Bull Stratos24 October 2012 (2012-10-24)1,038,000[87]

Series 6 (2013)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
671Gruen Nation (2013 Australian federal election)14 August 2013 (2013-08-14)1,028,000[88]
682Gruen Nation (Australian federal election, 2013)21 August 2013 (2013-08-21)1,052,000[89]
693Gruen Nation (Australian federal election, 2013)28 August 2013 (2013-08-28)1,045,000[90]
704Gruen Nation (Australian federal election, 2013)4 September 2013 (2013-09-04)1,179,000[91]
715One Direction11 September 2013 (2013-09-11)1,128,000[92]
726iPhone18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)988,000[93]
737MasterChef Australia25 September 2013 (2013-09-25)908,000[94]
748"Candid Camera"2 October 2013 (2013-10-02)784,000[95]
759Prince Harry9 October 2013 (2013-10-09)884,000[96]
7610"Against Coca-Cola"16 October 2013 (2013-10-16)909,000[97]
7711Alcohol23 October 2013 (2013-10-23)1,070,000[98]
7812Same-sex marriage30 October 2013 (2013-10-30)1,004,000[99]

Series 7 (2015)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
791Pet food9 September 2015 (2015-09-09)974,000[100]
802Uber, Ashley Madison16 September 2015 (2015-09-16)915,000[101]
813Aldi; Etihad Airways (with Nicole Kidman)23 September 2015 (2015-09-23)900,000[102]
824Pope Francis30 September 2015 (2015-09-30)917,000[103]
835AFL and NRL Grand Finals7 October 2015 (2015-10-07)926,000[104]
846Anti-advertising14 October 2015 (2015-10-14)902,000[105]
857Nuclear weapons21 October 2015 (2015-10-21)904,000[106]
868Multi-national company tax28 October 2015 (2015-10-28)904,000[107]
879Star Wars4 November 2015 (2015-11-04)897,000[108]
8810Christmas advertising11 November 2015 (2015-11-11)948,000[109]

Series 8 (2016)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
891Coffee, Telstra3 August 2016 (2016-08-03)954,000[110]
902Sponsorship of the Olympic Games10 August 2016 (2016-08-10)865,000[111]
9132016 Australian census, Organ donation17 August 2016 (2016-08-17)829,000[112]
924Superannuation, Fitness First24 August 2016 (2016-08-24)927,000[113]
935"Dad-vertising", "We're the Superhumans" (2016 Summer Paralympics campaign)31 August 2016 (2016-08-31)901,000[114]
946Sugar, "awareness campaigns"7 September 2016 (2016-09-07)830,000[115]
957Funerals, men's fragrances14 September 2016 (2016-09-14)815,000[116]
968Plebiscite, Samsung21 September 2016 (2016-09-21)832,000[117]
979Fruit, feminine hygiene28 September 2016 (2016-09-28)796,000[118]
9810Lamb, banks5 October 2016 (2016-10-05)832,000[119]

Series 9 (2017)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
991National Broadband Network, hipsters13 September 2017 (2017-09-13)903,000[120]
1002
Online dating, Apple Watch
20 September 2017 (2017-09-20)773,000[121]
1013Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, racism27 September 2017 (2017-09-27)793,000[122]
1024
Shopkins
4 October 2017 (2017-10-04)806,000[123]
1035
Eggs, BHP
11 October 2017 (2017-10-11)838,000[124]
1046Amazon, McHappy Day18 October 2017 (2017-10-18)813,000[125]
1057Gender pay gap, Hillsong Church25 October 2017 (2017-10-25)849,000[126]
1068Wine industry, Internet piracy1 November 2017 (2017-11-01)816,000[127]
1079AI assistants, Streets (ice cream)8 November 2017 (2017-11-08)840,000[128]
10810
Reputation, headaches
15 November 2017 (2017-11-15)718,000[129]

Series 10 (2018)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
1091Westpac, Coca-Cola No Sugar2 May 2018 (2018-05-02)862,000[130]
1102Facebook, Tourism Australia's Dundee campaign9 May 2018 (2018-05-09)841,000[131]
1113Chemist Warehouse, David Warner16 May 2018 (2018-05-16)897,000[132]
1124Ancestry.com, Woman's Day23 May 2018 (2018-05-23)784,000[133]
1135Bed mattress advertisements, Animals Australia30 May 2018 (2018-05-30)825,000[134]
1146Medibank, IKEA "Plant Bullying"6 June 2018 (2018-06-06)764,000[135]
1157Hair regrowth services, Amazon13 June 2018 (2018-06-13)877,000[136]
1168Uber Eats, Bowel Cancer Australia20 June 2018 (2018-06-20)881,000[137]
1179
Allen's (confectionery); End of Financial Year Sales
27 June 2018 (2018-06-27)809,000[138]
11810
ASMR in advertising
4 July 2018 (2018-07-04)785,000[139]

Series 11 (2019)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
1191Supermarket Collectables; Google's New Campaign25 September 2019 (2019-09-25)855,000[140]
1202Banking Royal Commission; KFC2 October 2019 (2019-10-02)874,000[141]
1213Department Stores; Big Vitamin9 October 2019 (2019-10-09)825,000[142]
1224Influencers; Mental health16 October 2019 (2019-10-16)827,000[143]
1235Milk and Milk Substitutes; Ineos 1:59 Challenge23 October 2019 (2019-10-23)730,000[144]
1246Domestic tourism; Spring Racing PR Crisis30 October 2019 (2019-10-30)695,000[145]
1257Greenwashing; Birdsnesting; Tourism Australia's Philausophy Campaign6 November 2019 (2019-11-06)744,000[146]
1268Food delivery; The Heart Foundation13 November 2019 (2019-11-13)741,000[147]
1279
Streaming Wars; Australia Post
20 November 2019 (2019-11-20)732,000[148]
12810Alcohol Marketing; Lay-by27 November 2019 (2019-11-27)749,000[149]

Series 12 (2020)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
1291Coronavirus messaging, TikTok and office space14 October 2020 (2020-10-14)[150]1,037,000[151]
1302Soap, Bushfire campaign, Paywalls21 October 2020 (2020-10-21)831,000[152]
1313
Bunnings Warehouse, essential workers, R. M. Williams
28 October 2020 (2020-10-28)891,000[153]
1324Tourism, McDonald's vs Hungry Jack's, cancel culture4 November 2020 (2020-11-04)746,000[154]
1335Beer, Getting Active vs Being Lazy, Billboards11 November 2020 (2020-11-11)732,000[155]
1346Chooks, Telco 5G and The arts18 November 2020 (2020-11-18)666,000[156]
1357
video games
25 November 2020 (2020-11-25)732,000[157]
1368Black Friday, Christmas, phone privacy2 December 2020 (2020-12-02)725,000[158]
1379
Allen’s Lollies and Black Lives Matter
9 December 2020 (2020-12-09)698,000[159]
13810Review of 2020 commercials16 December 2020 (2020-12-16)638,000[160]

Series 13 (2021)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
1391
Bunnings Warehouse, Balenciaga's collaboration with The Simpsons
13 October 2021 (2021-10-13)657,000[161]
1402The Wiggles, Amazon and online delivery, Primo Scrambles20 October 2021 (2021-10-20)702,000[162]
1413Sports betting, Wrigley's Extra, kissing27 October 2021 (2021-10-27)647,000[163]
1424Meta, Electric cars, Insurance3 November 2021 (2021-11-03)642,000[164]
1435Grill'd, McDonald's, BTS partnerships, Bottled water10 November 2021 (2021-11-10)577,000[165]
1446Buy Now, Pay Later services, Online share trade, Sunglasses17 November 2021 (2021-11-17)618,000[166]
1457Lego and Salmon24 November 2021 (2021-11-24)539,000[167]
1468Black Friday, Christmas and Novelty Flavours1 December 2021 (2021-12-01)573,000[168]
1479
skincare industry
8 December 2021 (2021-12-08)468,000[169]
14810Review of 2021 commercials15 December 2021 (2021-12-15)526,000[170]

Series 14 (2022)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
1491Gruen Nation (2022 Australian federal election)11 May 2022 (2022-05-11)588,000[171]
1502Gruen Nation (Australian federal election, 2022)18 May 2022 (2022-05-18)559,000[172]
1513KFC, Top Gun and US military, Australian Defence Force, ASIO, sex toys8 June 2022 (2022-06-08)491,000[173]
1524McCafé, service stations, Respect domestic violence campaign15 June 2022 (2022-06-15)619,000[174]
153522 June 2022 (2022-06-22)501,000[175]
1546
reviews
29 June 2022 (2022-06-29)524,000[176]
1557ABC 90th anniversary, Play School and Bluey toys, disinfectants and hygiene6 July 2022 (2022-07-06)536,000[177]
1568Use of 13 July 2022 (2022-07-13)416,000[178]
157920 July 2022 (2022-07-20)519,000[179]
15810Best of 2022 commercials (so far)27 July 2022 (2022-07-27)510,000[180]

Series 15 (2023)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Topic(s)Original air dateViewers
1591
anti-vaping
21 June 2023 (2023-06-21)436,000[181]
1602
optometrists
28 June 2023 (2023-06-28)532,000[182]
1613Supermarkets and cost of living, The Reject Shop, Spudshed and Who Gives A Crap toilet paper5 July 2023 (2023-07-05)484,000[183]
1624Barbie and employment websites12 July 2023 (2023-07-12)415,000[184]
1635Bed and mattress advertisements, sleep products, Sam Kerr and the FIFA Women's World Cup19 July 2023 (2023-07-19)427,000[185]
1646Soft drinks and energy drinks, insurance and natural disasters26 July 2023 (2023-07-26)458,000[186]
1657Security in telcos, banks and Google, company rebrands and Animals Australia and pork2 August 2023 (2023-08-02)480,000[187]
1668
air conditioners, Solo and Temu
9 August 2023 (2023-08-09)514,000[188]
1679Best of 2023 commercials (so far)16 August 2023 (2023-08-16)215,000[189]

Critical reception

In 2009, The Sydney Morning Herald felt that The Gruen Transfer represented "intelligence and substance."[190]

In 2013, The Sydney Morning Herald thought that by Gruen Planet, the show's creators had got the franchise format "down to a fine art".[191]

Awards and nominations

In 2013, the Gruen Sweat special edition of the show won a Rose d'Or for Entertainment.[192]

Ratings

Gruen returned to television in 2016 with 954,000 viewers,[193] and in 2017 with 903,000 viewers,[194] while in 2020 it received 943,000 viewers.[195]

Gruen : AUS viewers per episode (millions)