The Monkeys (formerly Three Drunk Monkeys) is a creative agency based in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 2006 by Justin Drape, Scott Nowell and Mark Green, they now employ over 130 full-time staff. The Monkeys create ideas that live within advertising, entertainment and technology. Clients include The University of Sydney, Telstra, IKEA, UBank and Parmalat.
Notable projects
Make Lamb, Not Walls
In 2021, The Monkeys and Meat & Livestock Australia launched a provocative advertising campaign making reference to the COVID-19 effect on Australian border restrictions, titled ‘Make Lamb, Not Walls’. The campaign took on a satirical approach, referencing politicians such as Scott Morrison, Daniel Andrews and Gladys Berejiklian. The campaign was reported on by major national and international news sources such as The New York Times and The Sydney Morning Herald, and increased sales of Lamb by 16.8%. It has received multiple national and international advertising awards since launch.
Thrive On
The Monkeys has numerous big brands on its books but this year's relaunch for Telstra marks among its biggest work to date. The fully integrated campaign shows how Telstra enables people to thrive in a connected world, effectively moving the brand from a 'telco' to a 'techco'. To highlight this point is a quote from renowned science fiction writer and futurist Arthur C. Clarke with the film also featuring a voice-over form slam poetry champion Phil Wilcox and soundtrack from Aussie band Flight Facilities.
Richie's BBQ
After picking up MLA's lamb portfolio, The Monkey's 2015 installment of its iconic Australia Day campaign was the brand's most successful ever ad. The agency designed the ultimate Australia Day barbecue hosted by cricket legend Richie Benaud and featuring Aussies from Captain Cook to Ita Buttrose.
Homer Hudson
Working with its design agency Maud, The Monkeys grabbed headlines across the country by relaunching iconic Australian ice cream brand Homer Hudson. At one point it was available in more than 800 Woolworths stores in Australia and proved that the agency was more than willing to work outside the boundaries.
Intelligent Sounds, featuring Flume
Intelligent Sounds is an experimental film project created by The Monkeys, in collaboration with Flume and Intel, which launched on 26 September 2013. Including music, technology and advertising, the film features a band of robots performing a soundtrack performed by Flume, who was named one of Fuse TV's "30 must-see artists" at SXSW in 2013.
Airbnb IKEA
In what was the first Airbnb collaboration in the world, The Monkeys helped IKEA turn the spotlight on its bedrooms and bathrooms by allowing Australian families to spend the night in IKEA Tempe. It picked up global attention across Time Magazine, Daily Mail and Huffington Post among others.
Stay Living
This series of graphic short films was shot in Sydney in 2013 and follows a group of friends who 'Stay Living' through a zombie apocalypse. Created by The Monkeys as branded entertainment for Boost Mobile, the films won the Grand Prix at the 2013 APAC Branded Content & Entertainment Awards.
Mixionary.com
The Mixionary.com platform is presentation for Diageo on cocktails and mixed drinks, breaking down each cocktail into separate steps. A series of Mixionary posters (designed by Maud) won a Yellow Pencil at D&AD 2013.
Reverse Robberies
After a change in ownership left Oak (Parmalat) milk without distribution, The Monkeys created a series of videos purporting to be footage of "reverse robberies": mask-wearing robbers raiding convenience stories to stock the shelves with Oak. It used Facebook to seed the idea and then to execute the campaign.
KLIPPBOK
KLIPPBOK (Swedish for 'scrapbook') is a scrapbooking app that allows people to browse IKEA products and experiment with home decorating. Since its launch in November 2012, KLIPPBOK has been downloaded 50,000 times in 100 countries, and featured at SXSW 2013 in an interactive project.
The Ship Song Project
To promote the cultural importance of the Sydney Opera House, The Monkeys collaborated with musicians Neil Finn, Kev Carmody, Sarah Blasko, John Bell, Martha Wainwright, Katie Noonan, Paul Kelly, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, The Temper Trap and Daniel Johns, along with Opera Australia, the Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra to perform and record a reinterpretation of The Ship Song by Nick Cave.