Australian comedian and actor Magda Szubanski, the famous face of the iconic Kath & Kim character Sharon Strzelecki, has joined forces with Google Ads to front a AI campaign.

Using her character, Shazza – best known for her tidy netball skills and on-screen marriage to the late Shane Warne in the hit ABC series – she shows just how easy it is to find customers for her so-called Bowled & Beautiful hairdressing business.

“So now I tell all my fellow ontray-preneurs … if I can do it, youse can too … tell ’em Shaz sent ya,” she says at the end of the ad.

It’s a clever advertising campaign that has the potential to resonate.

Could it stand the test of time like Paul Hogan’s “I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for ya” US campaign, Lara Bingle’s “Where the bloody hell are you?” $180 million tourism campaign and the famous Mojo’s Toohey’s beer ad, “How do you feel?”?

Szubanski tells marketing and advertising website B&T that she doesn’t easily offer up her character, saying she “is like [her] twin spirit; we go through the world together”.

But when Google Ads and Sydney ad agency Emotive approached her with a campaign on how to use AI-powered tools, she was hooked.

“In 25 years, I haven’t really used her,” she said. 

“It has to be something that I think is sh-t funny. It has to be a no-brainer, and when they came to me with Bowled & Beautiful, I went: I love it.

“I go very much on instinct with that sort of stuff. If it’s tickling my funny bone, it just makes it a joy to do it. There really is a joy in it.

“We need a little joy in the world right now. If you’re gonna do something like this, why not make it creative and fun?”

Szubanski says Sharon was “the perfect candidate” for this type of explainer ad, because, being “challenged” in so many aspects of her life, Google Ads sends the message that its tools really are that easy.

The ‘front hustle’

The campaign was developed after research by Google and Kantar found that almost two-thirds (61 per cent) of Australian small and medium businesses (SMBs) saw acquiring new customers as their No.1 challenge.

The ad starts with Shaz telling viewers her jobs history, including side hustles like being an untrained indoor cricket coach, before creating a “front hustle” – her small business with a unique haircut style using bowls on heads.

In a counter display folder, you can see her styles, including the fruit bowl, the ramekin and the bowl and spoon.

Only problem was, she was having trouble getting customers until the garbage collector came in for a cut, and he suggested “google Google Ads”.

Shaz tells us she thought it was all going to be too “techy” for an indoor leg-spinner like her, but she was “wronger than a wrong-un” because Google’s AI did it all for her and she just followed a few simple steps.

It’s four minutes of pure gold Shazza.

Szubanski shared the ad on her socials this week, saying “thanks to Google Ads, she’s knocked it for six! Let’s be honest, if Sharon Strzelecki can do it, youse can too. Onya Shazza!”.

Emotive boss Simon Joyce told B&T “by tapping so authentically into Sharon’s world and bringing it to life in something that’s so revered and loved and weave Google products through it, it becomes quite literally part of the entertainment”.

“All of a sudden, I’m willing to give up a few minutes of my time here. And that’s the difference,” said Joyce, who received his own Bowled & Beautiful makeover (as evidenced on his LinkedIn profile).

Szubanski says “Shaz is a very special character and I wanted to ensure that her evolution into a business owner was as true to
her spirit as an everyday Aussie who is giving her best crack”.

“The fact that Shaz is helping her fellow entrepreneurs … well I think that’s exactly the type of person she is!” she said.

The staff at Bowled & Beautiful have their diaries full, including visits from famous cricketers like Adam Gilchrist. Photo: Emotive

A mini series? A movie? 

Joyce said Szubanski was a genius to work with.

And with social media clicks racking up above the 10,000-mark, it sparked the obvious question – can we please have more Shazza as it’s different, unusual and noice?

“I think there might be a new cinematic universe in the making,” wrote Szubanski’s co-star Gina Rose Drew, who plays Karen.

“Sharon needs her own show,” wrote another.

And this: ‘‘Finally Sharon has the success she deserves … don’t let Kim become a partner.’’