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Korean ad agency apologises for letting water buffaloes loose in Sydney suburb

Buffaloes on the looseCheil, the lead global advertising agency for Korean electronics giant Samsung, has apologised to the people of Sydney for losing control of two water buffaloes that were involved in a TV commercial shoot in a suburb of the Australian city.

The large horned herbivores evaded their handlers in Sydney this morning, and were seen running around the fashionable suburb of Newton. The incident made the national news in a country where animals regularly make the headlines.

One of the buffaloes broke free, then another did the same shortly after. They were both captured and tied up only to break free again and run down King Street, a central road in Newton. No one was hurt.

In a statement shared with Mumbrella, the Korean agency said: “Cheil Worldwide sincerely apologises for any inconvenience this incident may have caused Sydneysiders.”

“We understand that the contracted production company, responsible for the shoot, worked with local authorities to quickly contain the incident. We can also confirm that the water buffaloes are safe and no one was injured.”

“We are grateful for the help of the local authorities and the community who assisted to safely contain the situation. We will do our utmost to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future,” the agency said.

The agency would not reveal the identity of the production company involved.

The incident of the animals running down the street was filmed by Instagramer sopha_chest this morning.

Leo Burnett Sydney, which handles much of Samsung’s local brand advertising in Australia, was originally believed to be the agency staging the shoot, but Cheil admitted responsibility this afternoon.

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