The Looney Tunes approach to internal communications?

An Australian agency’s animated cartoon exemplifies how not to communicate internally

Cartoons aren’t just for kids—so says ABT, an Australian “brand experience” agency. Two and a half years ago, the agency created a short animated video designed to illustrate how not to do internal communications.

Fast-forward to today, where the video is getting passed around like hotcakes among communicators and getting picked up by the internal communications blogosphere. Claire Kowarsky, marketing communications manager for Melbourne-based ABT, tells Ragan.com why the video has been such a home run.

The animated video was created as a presentation at a meeting of the Australian Marketing Institute. The video takes the format of a talk show. Being interviewed is “Howard Downer,” the supposed marketing manager for a company called “Verbalized Solutions.” (The marketing guy’s name, explains Kowarsky, is a play on the names of two former Australian government officials, Prime Minister John Howard and foreign minister Alexander Downer.)