Robots Ad (TV story)

Robots Ad
Main character(s):	B9 Robot
Featuring:	John Robot
Main enemy:	Grey Dalek
Main setting:	Robot Banks call centre
Key crew
Director:	Sean Meehan
Producer:	Soma Films
Release details
Release date:	9 March 2005
Format:	30 seconds advertisement

The Robots Ad, also referred to as the ANZ Bank Ad or ANZ Bank Advert, was a narrative TV commercial produced by Soma Films for the Australian ANZ Bank, featuring an appearance by the Daleks authorised by BBC Worldwide, via props provided by the Australian group Retro Universal Robots, then going by Canberra Daleks & Robots, who also provided Dalek props for a number of events and productions such as Reeltime Pictures' The Doctor Down Under. The parodical minisode also featured appearances by two iconic fictional robots: Robot B9 from Lost in Space, whose usage was overseen by the wife of Irwin Allen, and "John" from the 1962 Soviet science-fiction film Planeta Bur.

The campaign ran between 9 March and 11 March 2005, forming the Daleks' final televised appearance in the "pre-NuWho" era which would be ushered in by the debut of Rose ^[+]Loading...["Rose (TV story)"] on 26 March. On 9 March, Canberra Daleks & Robots released a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the short, also including an official upload of the finished product in low resolution at the end. The short would also be given an official, free online home on ANZ's official website's "Promotions" page alongside a library of other such adverts, where it remained for some years.

Publisher's summary

This TV commercial features our Australian Call Centre, which was recently awarded Best Call Centre in Australia by the Institute of Customer Service Professionals and is now open 24 hours, 7 days a week for your convenience - that's ANZ NOW.

Summary

A dysfunctional robot-operated call centre is compared to a human, and humane, one.

Plot

At an "average" banking call centre which appears to be manned entirely by robots and other biomechanoids, the B9 Robot picks up a phone receiver with its claw. Without even hearing out the caller's request, it shouts "Your call is important to us!", instructs it to "press # to continue", then passes the call along to the equally useless John, who explains in broken, robotic English that the call has been placed on hold and "there will be short wait" [sic]. John then attempts to pass the phone to a Grey Dalek, who is closely followed by a Blue Dalek. However, the Dalek's manipulator arm cannot hold the phone and it drops to the floor; this angers the Dalek, who begins to shout "Exterminate! Exterminate! Destroy!" and winds up shooting at John with its gunstick while a flailing Robot continues to repeat "Your call is important to us! Your call is important to us!"

Meanwhile, ANZ's own, serene, human-operated call centre has recently been certfied as "Australia's best call centre".

Cast

• John Robot - Jason Taylor
• Grey Dalek and Gold Dalek operator - Andrew Corson
• Cyber Girl - Vanessa

Non-performed or uncredited

• Green Toy
• B9 Robot
• Torpedo Head
• Octopus-looking robot
• Blue Dalek
• Call Centre girls

Crew

• Director - Sean Meehan
• 1st assistant director - Richard McGrath
• B9 Robot provided by Glen Weir, with usage overseen by Sheila Matthews Allen

Worldbuilding

• Other "robots" at the call centre include a Gold Dalek, the Cyber Girl, the "Torpedo Head", and an octopus-looking robot.

Notes

• Despite the generic nature of the location, the robot call centre was an entirely artificial set built in an empty "floor area" in an "industrial estate", with large numbers of out-of-date office appliances being purchased especially for the production in order to dress it up. Meanwhile, the human Call Centre girls were filmed against a greenscreen.
• The "B9 Lost in Space Robot" prop was provided by Australian Glen Weir, and three Dalek props — a Grey Dalek, a Blue Dalek, an Imperial-esque White Dalek, and a Gold Dalek — were provided by Canberra Daleks & Robots, although the White Dalek cannot be seen in the final cut. The remaining eight full-sized robots, including the Planeta Bur-based articulated John Robot suit, were created by Studio Kite over a nine-day period. Additionally, a number of small, off-the-shelves model robots were "scattered around" the set, including an animated one with the ability to walk; however, none of these toy robots are visible in the finished story.
• A deleted gag shot featured the White Dalek and Grey Dalek facing each other at a corridor entrance point too narrow to accommodate them both, resulting in an angry confrontation.

The Pod Robot, an especially-built animated prop which appears nowhere in the final cut.

• One of the full-size robots highlighted in the featurette, the "Pod Robot", is likewise completely unseen in the final cut, with a a close-up of John Robot's arm blocking it from view at the one angle from which it might have been glimpsed in the background towards the end.
• No voice actors are credited, either in the advert itself or the documentary, for the speaking parts of the B9 Robot, John, and the Gey Dalek. The Grey Dialogue's only dialogue (generic cries of "Exterminate! Exterminate! Destroy!") were obtained by reusing audio from TV: The Power of the Daleks ^[+]Loading...["The Power of the Daleks (TV story)"], but sampling cannot have been used for John and B9 Robot's more context-specific lines. Although dialogue can be heard on-set in the documentary during some shots, these would seem to constitute mere scratch tracks which had always been intended to be dubbed over. If Dick Tufeld reprised his role as the B9 Robot from the original series, this may have constituted his last-ever performance as the character.
• Various bits of in-universe set-dressing are highlighted within the Facebook documentary but were not legible on-screen. These documents featured consistent branding for the "Robot Banks" operating the call centre, and included:
  • A "Certificate of High Achievement" pinned in John's cubicle, dated March 2005 and reading "Operator John successfully completed 6 calls without causing serious bodily harm to a human being. Congratulations!!!"
  • The "Call Center Rules of Conduct", reading:
    • "1. Oil/fuel leaks must be reported."
    • "2. Nuclear power units forbidden."
    • "3. No gun fights during work hours."
    • "4. The customer may be right."
    • "5. Human beings are people too. (Almost.)"
  • A sign reading: "REMEMBER: Be gentle with your computer, for it is also a machine. Be gentle with your phone for ti s also a machine. Do not cannibalise office machinery for spare parts. Tea and Coffee may rust your wokrings — be careful. TODAY the banks, tomorrow THE WORLD!"
  • A whiteboard with a hand-written table with columns for "Operator", "Calls taken", "✓", "✘", and "Fatalities". The listed operators include "Jet Engine Head" (presumably Torpedo Head), "Dalek #385", John, "Drek", "Cyber Babe" (presumably the Cyber Girl), "Dalek BD #314", and "Green Toy" (presumably the large green boxy-looking robot with the animated arm). Jet Engine Head has six fatalities, the first Dalek has two, and Green Toy has three.

Filming locations

• Lane Cove, Sydney

Continuity

• One of the Daleks working at the Robot Banks call centre resembles a Skaro City Dalek as seen in the film TV: Dr. Who and the Daleks ^[+]Loading...["Dr. Who and the Daleks (theatrical film)"], although with smaller, TV-sized luminosity dischargers. Movie Daleks with reduced head-lights were also seen as the Mechanus Attack Daleks in TV: The Chase ^[+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"], although those pops had further modifications not displayed by the call centre Blue Dalek here.
• The Gold Dalek looks similar to the one seen in charge of the 2150 Dalek invasion of Earth in TV: Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. ^[+]Loading...["Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (theatrical film)"].

External links

• 9 March 2005 ANZ Bank Advert on the Canberra Daleks & Robots Facebook page