| abstract
| - The Gruen Transfer is an Australian television program focusing on advertising, which debuted on The ABC on May 28, 2008. The program is hosted by comedian Wil Anderson with a panel of advertising industry experts. The title refers to the Gruen Transfer, the response to designed disorientation cues in retail environments to encourage impulse purchasing named after Austrian architect Victor Gruen, who designed the first shopping mall (and who strongly opposed using the transfer technique). During the 2010 Australian election campaign, the show temporarily became Gruen Nation, a version analyzing political spin, increasing the show's run for the year by four episodes. In September 2011, the show re-branded itself as Gruen Planet, which broadens the show's scope to include all forms of spin and PR, rather than simply advertising. Current segments include:
* How Do You Sell?: This segment every week looks at advertising tactics used by advertisers. Topics covered include beer, underwear, chocolate and banks.
* Endorse Me: Wil Anderson gives the panel the challenge of finding a sponsor for people who are famous for all the wrong reasons. Examples include Carl Williams and David Hicks.
* The Pitch: Two advertising companies are given a brief to create an advertisement for an "unsellable" product. Previous examples have included whale meat, tourism in Baghdad, the beleaguered Australian Democrats political party, and a proposed invasion of New Zealand (which provoked a response from the New Zealand government and several NZ YouTube viewers, although the final episode of Series One provided some balance in the form of a promotion for tourists not to visit Australia). As of the 2011 season, they are sourcing their weekly Pitch from fan suggestions on Twitter and Facebook.
* Ad of the Week (from season three, known instead as Ad Crunch): Wil and the panel look at an ad and they discuss it and how effective it is.
* What is this Ad for?: Wil shows the beginning of an ad but doesn't identify it and asks the panel to guess what it is for.
* What's Wrong With This Ad?: A semi-regular segment where Wil shows an ad (usually brought to the attention by viewers) and asks the panel the things they believe to be wrong about that ad. A previous example includes the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Heaven campaign (which emphasises low fat in its product), where a viewer commented that in the ad, even after dying and going to heaven, you still have to worry about your weight.
* Space Invaders: A semi-regular segment in which a real-life example of a new or unusual space for advertising is discussed. (Previous examples have included sheep jackets, children's books and on slums.) The panel are then challenged to figure out a worthwhile client for advertisements in that space.
* Time Tunnel: The panel goes back to look at an ad from several years ago, and compare the strategies used to modern advertising.
* God, I Hate That Ad!: A web exclusive segment where Wil will bring up a particular ad that he (or viewers) dislike and has the panel discuss it, whether it is bad or not, or why it is bad.
* What Does it Mean?: A web exclusive segment where Wil and the panel come to a consensus of what message an ad is trying to get across when it is not obvious.
* What would Putin Do?: Only on Gruen Planet, it discusses bizarre PR stunts pulled by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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