The Endless Saga Of Rhonda And Ketut Is Officially Over

Advertising: it’s the noble art of selling bullshit to losers. Generally, TV commercials mark the points in a program where you can remind yourself not to pee all over your couch, but sometimes an ad will transcend its sell-y nonsense, and somehow resonate in the hearts of ordinary Australians (who are probably also insanely lonely). Such is the case with AAMI’s bizarrely popular romantic saga between Rhonda and Ketut.

Since first introducing the redheaded Rhonda (Melinda McElhinney) and her Balinese romantic travails way back in 2011, the ad’s become an ongoing TV fixture, complete with cliffhangers, love triangles, and online voting campaigns. I once even saw an article about Ketut in TV Week. He’s an ad extra! That fake French lady from the Budget ads never got a two-page write-up in a weekly gossip mag! “This thing has gone too far,” I thought to myself, while I flicked over to photos of Kim Kardashian’s cellulite. Thankfully, the end has finally arrived.

“All good things must come to an end, eventually. All stories have an end date,” AAMI executive manager Richard Riboni told Mumbrella earlier today. “The final ads are on air at the moment.”

Apparently, the ridiculous success of the ads have been their own undoing. McElhinney is now starring in Nine’s Love Child, and doesn’t have time for car insurance ads anymore, kinda like how Leonardo DiCaprio became too successful for Growing Pains (or something). “The actors need to be available and wanting to do it, and at this point in time they’re not going to be available to play those roles in the foreseeable future,” Riboni added.

To someone somewhere, this is their Breaking Bad finale. At least they’ll remember not to pee on their couch anymore (hopefully).