The campaign
Maxibon has brought back Barney Banana, the banana-flavoured primate, to launch Maxibon Barney Banana. The 2026 campaign comes from agency SICKDOGWOLFMAN with production company Haven’t You Done Well. Jemma Cotter directed, and Alyssa Smedley handled animation.
Creative direction came from James Orr and Jess Wheeler, with design director Jake Turnbull. Peters Ice Cream is the client, with Andrea Hamori as chief marketing officer. The work runs across TV, out-of-home, digital and social, and includes a series of bespoke edits for Meta and TikTok.
What the film says and how
The premise is that Barney has been away long enough to be genuinely out of step. His long-time talent manager, Glen, has to do a fair amount of work to get him back in the zone. The humour comes from how much has changed since Barney was last in the spotlight: petrol was leaded, Kylie Minogue was Charlene, and TikToks were just a weird biscuit with a clock.
That datedness is the creative engine. Barney started life as hand-drawn scamps before evolving into his final form in 2D animation, and all executions were shot on location. The result is a relaunch that treats the character’s absence as material, not a problem to hide.
James Orr, creative director at SICKDOGWOLFMAN, said the chance to bring back a local legend is rare, and the team felt pressure to do Barney justice. He credited Haven’t You Done Well as the right partners to reignite the career of Australia’s most talented and delicious monkey.
The response so far
Campaign Brief has not reported audience metrics or sales figures yet. The response, as reported, comes from the client side. Andrea Hamori, chief marketing officer at Peters, said Australians have an incredible amount of nostalgia for Barney Banana, and the brand knew it had to bring him back in a way people would not expect.
She added that longtime fans will “go bananas” for it, and the campaign might even turn the heads of a few banana deniers along the way.
The category context
This is a nostalgia-led relaunch in frozen novelties, using a legacy character to introduce a new product format: the Barney Banana ice cream bar combined with Maxibon’s signature dual-ended sandwich. The category has long relied on familiar mascots, but the challenge is making that familiarity feel fresh rather than recycled.
- Legacy equity: Barney Banana arrives with built-in recognition.
- Product innovation: the familiar flavour is attached to a dual-ended format.
- Social adaptation: bespoke edits for Meta and TikTok signal a platform-specific plan.
What to watch next
The next signal will be whether the push converts nostalgia into trial, particularly through the Meta and TikTok edits designed for shorter attention spans. Also worth watching is whether the character’s comeback encourages more mascot revivals across Australian ice cream and confectionery brands.
The campaign’s own line is a decent barometer: if longtime fans go bananas as Hamori predicts, the gamble of bringing back an out-of-touch icon will look like a smart one.
Watch the original: Maxibon on YouTube
Source: Campaign Brief
