When Gruen first aired, its host said that “nobody thought it would be a thing that kept going”. Filming the show the day before it airs, the host admitted that he would “often be going on air with things we’ve never rehearsed”. Wil Anderson has been hosting Gruen for 18 years, it’s now in its 17th season and still alive and kicking.
Gruen demystifies the smoke and mirrors of the advertising industry; from fyp algorithms to snapchat ads and every commercial in between. When the show started, people saw 3000 commercial messages per day, and the founders felt like they “were making the most outrageous, provocative thing that wouldn’t make it through an entire season”.
Now, Wil thinks that number is closer to 10,000 and the show has only increased in relevance. He says, “if advertising is the poetry of capitalism then Gruen is doing a big poetry review and what it means about the world”.
The Australian Comedy Scene – from the inside:
For his comedy career, Wil Anderson flew his family’s coop — or rather dairy farm — in Victoria and pitched his tent in Melbourne. At the time, “you had to basically move to Melbourne to be a comedian”, which may be hard for some Sydneysiders to swallow. Nowadays, Wil is the biggest cheerleader for Newcastle as “an obvious create hub” and the peacemaker in the battle with the scarcity of work in Sydney and cost of living crisis. Hopefully he hasn’t offended any Sydney lovers.
On Touring in Australia – all of it:
Wil’s tour bus will stop in many regional towns; from Ballerat to Orange, and every Blue Mountain in between. He prefers the refurbished country theatres to being a side piece to metropolitan couples on a Friday date night. Wil urges other comedians to go rural too, explaining it as an opportunity to cameo in a country kid’s “origin story”. They could aspire for a mention in the kid’s memoir, I joked.
The Birth and Early Childhood of Gruen:
After agreeing to host the show, Wil “honestly thought there was a chance they wouldn’t air all 8 episodes”. The show’s complaint box was filled with conspirators who believed it was a “a soft ball way to get advertising on the ABC”. The ABC and all its subsidiaries — like Triple J — are entirely ad-free. So a show about ads on ABC television “was very controversial at the time”.
Gruen’s Premise – what even is it:
In its current format, an episode of Gruen hosts a panel of 2 experts and 2 regulars (who tend to disagree) who pick apart recent adverts. As host, Wil guides the episode down a river of segments, challenging guests in good spirits. Wil explains that “everything I say isn’t a personal attack it’s just me doing my job” and everybody who steps on set understands that. It’s based on the premise that “the people who need to sell us stuff, need to know us best”.
Does Gruen Hate Us? – Gruen’s exclusion of young voices on their panels:
“Is there a bias towards expertise on the show? Yeah, well the show is a panel of experts, but expertise comes in all sorts of forms”. As an executive producer of the show, Wil explained how they “demographically represent everybody (in the industry)”. This is not a perfect system. Representative sampling can reproduce the biases of inequality and feed into stereotypes of what professionals should look like.
The other forms of expertise Wil is referencing is the lived experience in a young body. He suggested interns can actually be useful; “one of the great things about that is when we’re in an advertising room we’ll have someone… (who’ll say) on my tiktok I’m seeing xyz”. Even if the executive producer only sees you as a tool to stay ‘hip and cool’, once you’re in the writing room you’re hired! So promote yourself in job interviews as just this: a communication line between young people and their company. Use Your Age as a Trump Card (UYAAATC) over the years of expertise of others.
In fact, the Gruen head writer was once an intern. Wil explains that “experience is outweighed by the life experience relevant”. See, there’s no such thing as under qualified.
If you seriously want to look into interning at the ABC click here.
Every office wants a tin and can to “the youth” — we’re a mysterious species that they want to capture. Advertisers want to know what gets them onto our fyps, and shows like Gruen want to include us to gain our attention. Like Liana Rossi, who was on air 2 weeks ago explaining the chokehold of White Fox on 16-year-old girls. Wil sees her as “understanding that demographic and that world.”
The show’s dedication of 2/10 pitch segments to YoungBloods and advertising students is respectable. Wil also assured me that equal (cis)gender representation is attained by the show who are careful to have equal male and female numbers on set. With both the 2 permanent guests being men, “we basically only have female guests on” (to keep it even).
Is Comedy Necessarily Political – do you have to hush hush since you’re on the ABC?
“Absolutely, [it’s political]” Wil said.
“I obviously have to be unbiased when I am on air when it comes to politics.”
Wil is referring to the recent cases of ABC employees being politically hushed, namely Antoinette Lattouff’s unfair dismissal case in the Supreme Court.
“The ABC, are very strict about that especially during election campaigns… when we do the election campaign our best job is to make fun of everybody equally”.
But unlike radio or newspaper employees, Wil is only hushed when he is on air, which is only “about 5 hours a year… I don’t have to shush it for that long”.
Nonetheless, he “doesn’t align [himself] with products that might be talked about on the show”.
Thank you, Wil Anderson
Wil Anderson is a considered character; his values are visible in his actions. His efforts to tour regional areas to impact young aspiring comedians, assure gender representation on air, and include young people in the writing room, coupled with his actions off-air too are representative of his benevolence. This interview revealed a complex character behind the quirky Gruen host seemingly reading off cards handed to him backstage.
Wil is heavily involved in the show and passionate about its success. Gruen and his own longevity in Australian media is surely tribute to both his and the team’s intelligence and forethought.
I implore you readers to watch an episode of Gruen, it’ll show you the comedy backed by intelligence that you just don’t see these days.
