Volkswagen and Network TEN have teamed up to bring an action packed hour of reality TV to Australian television screens, in a premiere special that sees two teams of Aussie Tradies driving from the beach to the bush in order to test Volkswagen’s popular new commercial vehicle, the Amarok ute. The Amarok proved itself as the support vehicle at the Dakar Rally but how will it do in tough Aussie conditions?
Along the way, the teams undertake five extreme challenges, with expert judges awarding points at each stage. At the end of the adventure, the team that performs the best overall will walk away with the keys to their very own, brand new Volkswagen Amarok ute worth over $50,000.
A competition to find the two teams ran on air and online with channel 10 , the two teams were selected from hundreds of Tradies who entered, via the TEN website. After a gruelling selection process, The Tricky Brickies from Victoria, and The Three Wise Monkeys from New South Wales, were the stand out entrants chosen to compete in The Rok Adventure.
The Tricky Brickies are three brick-layers from Melbourne. Lead by team captain, Mark Pratt (41), the boys all work and play together. Slinging bricks for Mark six days a week, Trevor James (24) and Daniel Rutter (27) are loyal employees who have a huge amount of respect for their boss and mate. Mark entered the competition because he wanted the chance to have a week off work and spend some social time with his hard working boys. Mark knew the only way that was going to happen was if an opportunity too good to pass up came his way. The Rok Adventure was just the excuse the boys were looking for.
The Three Wise Monkeys are three best mates from Sydney. Team captain, Alex Henderson (31), is a self-confessed Volkswagen nut – so much so – his cabinetry manufacturing business is a shrine to the car maker. Joining Alex is metal fabricator, Andrew Cherni (31) and electrician, Mike Reid (33). The three boys are passionate about cars, the Sydney Swans and working hard. All three team members own their businesses and are driven to succeed.
The challenges the teams will face in The Rok Adventure are designed to test man and machine, be entertaining and bring out the best (or worst) in all the participants.
There is everything from extreme 4WDing in the Blue Mountains, to building sheep yards in Orange, searching old mine sites in Cobar, to getting down and dirty with big boys toys in Broken Hill. Along the way, the teams will have to deal with punishing conditions, mates defecting to the other side, and being under the pump to complete tasks before their time runs out.
The Rok Adventure was jointly created and produced by Volkswagen’s media agency MEDIACOM, and TV production company Southern Star Entertainment.
Meadicom’s Creative Director, Gemma Newland said The Rok Adventure was created first and foremost to entertain the audience, we developed all the challenges to highlight and test specific features of the Amarok such as torque, load baring, towing capacity and off road capabilities but in ways you have never seen before. It was vital that the Amarok was tested under Aussie conditions in order to prove it’s toughness in a highly competitive market.
Southern Star Entertainment’s General Manager of Branded Entertainment, Jason Franklin said the The Rok Adventure is simply a great fun watch, a reflection of how much fun it was to make.
“We sent a team of almost 30 people in a convoy of nine Volkswagen vehicles across 3,000kms of some of the toughest roads and places in outback Australia. And I’m pleased to say not only did everyone come back safe and sound, and with their sense of humour still intact, but not one of the Volkswagen vehicles missed a beat. So I think we certainly achieved what we set out to prove!”
The Rok Adventure will premiere on One HD on Saturday 26th at 6:30pm.
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