Seasol’s ‘Dirty Old Secrets’, a 10-part docu-series, leans into younger Australians’ growing interest in gardening to promote the seaweed plant tonic.
The work challenges traditional depictions of gardeners as older people by casting real gardeners to impart wisdom to a new generation, in the style of a music video, voiced by hip-hop artist L Fresh the Lion.
The subversion of established tropes is a purposeful weirdness, Howatson+Company creative director Simon Friedlander told LBB, creating a tension that gives the campaign energy.
“Everyone involved understood the bigger picture,” Simon said.
“This was about passing down gardening knowledge in a way that would resonate with a very different audience. The older gardeners loved being positioned as straight‑up cultural characters instead of stereotypes, and younger audiences loved seeing their grandparents’ generation becoming TikTok stars.
“That tension wasn’t a roadblock, it was the idea. The gap between the generations is what gave the campaign its energy.”
Simon explained younger Aussies are flocking to gardening, but the category “hasn’t gotten the memo”.
“It’s still beige and safe playing out the same old tropes,” he said.
“That void presented the perfect opportunity to do something disruptive. Pairing high‑energy music with octogenarian gardeners was the creative tension. The clash was funny, unexpected, and instantly re‑framed these older gardeners as icons with swagger, not quaint archetypes.”
The agency explored a number of creative avenues before settling on using music to contrast and highlight the wisdom of older gardeners.
“The music route gave them the kind of pop‑cultural status they’d never had before. Suddenly, their wisdom felt elevated and became worth listening to.
“Seasol has always had a slightly eccentric streak hiding under its trusted, iconic exterior. When we showed them the strategy — that in order to stay relevant, they had to look beyond their ageing loyalists and recruit a new generation — it all made sense.
“This wasn’t weird for weird’s sake, it was weird with a purpose. Once [the gardeners] realised we weren’t ridiculing them but amplifying their quirks, they embraced it. They loved being reframed not as ‘old gardeners’, but as cultural stars.”
‘Dirty Old Secrets’ was primarily about shifting the perception of gardeners, and ties into Howatson+Company’s broader strategy of repositioning Yates brands for new generations. Yates’ recent sports parody, the ‘National Gardening League’campaign, also subverted category tropes with growth in mind.
“Both Seasol and Yates are iconic in Aussie backyards,” Simon explained, “but heritage doesn’t automatically translate to future growth.
“We wanted to take what they’ve always stood for — trust, utility, authority — and re‑express it in ways that feel entertaining. That’s why Yates leaned into a sport parody with the National Gardening League, while Seasol leaned into docu‑comedy swagger. Different executions, same philosophy: cultural relevance to drive growth.
“We’re not just trying to hold onto older audiences. We’re making sure these brands connect with the next generation.”
Producing the 10-part series wasn’t without its logistical challenges, particularly when casting real gardeners and not actors. The risk of “collapsing into chaos”, Simon believes, was always there.
“Our challenge was to make each episode distinct, while bingeable as a series.
“We spent real time with our gardeners, learning their back stories, listening to their quirks, and then building flexible scripts around them. We made sure they were just rough outlines so talent could riff, surprise us, and stay authentic.
“With Connor Pritchard’s direction at Good Oil, it became a docu‑comedy: tiny unscripted moments, a pause, an eye roll, a crash zoom, became the real stars. That balance of craft and looseness is what made the episodes feel alive.”
Good Oil’s Connor told LBB the homes and gardens of the cast needed to stay authentic, not feel staged.
“They carried their own unique energy,” Connor explained. “So we reflected that in each episode through various experimental music that reflected their vibe. Then I applied the kind of visual look I like to explore in music videos to those locations. Unexpected framing, rhythm-driven edits, and lots of zoomy zooms.
“That is what made ‘Dirty Old Secrets’ feel like one whole film instead of two styles fighting each other.”
With most of the gardeners having never been in front of a camera before, Connor prioritised a low-pressure, relaxed shooting environment.
“With the visual hooks at the start of each episode being a little bit naughty, I knew we had to tread lightly, but they were so open and game for it. In the end, their natural personalities definitely carried the series.”
But while traditional documentaries have time to breathe, ‘Dirty Old Secrets’ had to condense these personalities into two-minute stories.
“With social attention spans often three seconds or less, we had to grab people instantly,” Connor said.
“The way through was leaning into bold hooks and visual gags right from the top, and making sure every frame had personality. The Seasol theme song from the agency was also key in carrying the series along, giving it rhythm and consistency.
“Building this as a social-first project shaped the entire approach. The challenge was making it snackable enough for Gen Z’s feeds, while still layered enough that you could rewatch and keep going back to it for useful [and] accurate gardening tips.”
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