Frank Walker, founder of National Tiles, has a distinctive [read: annoying] voice. After more than four decades of blasting through Australian radios, that voice is part of Aussie culture – and National Tiles’ greatest brand asset.

Rather than reinventing the brand, Sunday Gravy used what consumers already thought about it. Sunday Gravy has taken National Tiles’ founder and his distinctive voice to television.

Research revealed that while many Australians described the advertising as “annoying”, it was also one of the brand’s greatest strengths. The insight inspired a new platform, Annoyingly Good, transforming the brand’s most divisive characteristic into its biggest competitive advantage.

The campaign amps up the humour that has lain beneath National Tiles’ radio ads for decades by opening with cliché television commercials, from beer ads to superannuation spots. Walker smashes through the sets (literally) to hijack the commercial and remind viewers they’re actually watching a National Tiles ad.

Each 60-second TVC begins as one advertisement before unexpectedly becoming another, creating a new viewing behaviour. The ambition is to train Australians that whenever they see a beautifully designed home with incredible tiles, Frank Walker might burst through the wall and turn it into a National Tiles commercial.

Ant White, co-founder and chief creative officer at Sunday Gravy, stated, “Most brands spend years trying to get rid of the thing people remember them for. National Tiles had the opposite opportunity. Australians already knew exactly who Frank Walker was. Instead of changing that, we embraced it. Annoyingly Good gives the brand permission to lean into its biggest cultural asset, while reminding people that behind the voice are genuinely great tiles at genuinely great prices.”

Frank Walker added, “I started National Tiles in 1979 with a simple promise – give customers great products, great value and service they can rely on. Because when you choose National Tiles, I want you to know you’ve made a very good choice. An annoyingly good choice, in fact.”

The full campaign covers television, online video, social and digital.