Novak Djokovic lamb billboards turn heads at Australian Open

The billboards, part of Meat and Livestock Australia's annual summer lamb campaign, have served up the tongue-in-cheek slogans "Everyone's welcome at our BBQ. Not Djoking" and "Australian Lamb. More tender than border control".

It comes days after the unvaccinated Djokovic was deported from Australia after authorities cancelled his visa for a second time, with the question of whether the world number one men's player should be allowed to stay in the country for the event overshadowing the lead-up to the Grand Slam event.

The summer lamb campaign launched last week, with a television commercial centred around Australia's isolation during the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The campaign will run for six weeks, using the Share the Lamb tagline to promote the unmistakeable flavour of Australian lamb, and in addition to advertisements will include promotions in major retailers and food service partnerships.

Domestic market manager at Meat and Livestock Australia Graeme Yardy said the Australian Lamb summer campaign has a history of tongue-in-cheek and topical humour.

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"While the news changes each day, the one constant is that lamb and laughter are great unifiers, and we can be resilient together while enjoying a tasty lamb barbecue," he said.

"Throughout the six week campaign, we are always looking to keep the campaign fresh and topical, so you can expect some more interesting content during the next few weeks."

Last year's 'make lamb not walls' campaign set a high bar for this year's campaign after it won multiple awards, with MLA promising to make the 2022 campaign "bigger and better".