Great Northern beer ad for Father’s Day is a real tear-jerker

A beer advertisement showing a ballet dancer reconnecting with his Aussie battler dad in the great outdoors is a real tear-jerker.

A beer ad depicting a father and son reconnecting in the great outdoors is bound to bring tears to more than a few eyes when it rolls out from tonight.

The extended video shows Daniel Gaudiello and his dad Luigi heading off on a four-day camping and fishing trip in north Queensland.

Their powerful experience is part of Great Northern’s new Father’s Day campaign, which encourages Australians to “do something with dad he won’t forget”.

A moving video showing a father and son reconnecting in the great outdoors is the latest campaign for Great Northern beer.

While he and his dad are close, Daniel has spent almost two decades away, working and travelling the world to pursue his dream.

At six, he mustered the courage to ask his dad — a typical Aussie battler — if he could take ballet classes.

“I’m lucky with dad. I think his Italian side helped — they like art. He can dance himself too! I felt like I was always supported by dad. He never made me feel like it was the wrong thing for a boy to do and that I shouldn’t be doing.”

He was a natural and honed his skills throughout school before leaving home at 18 to follow his passion.

He rose through the ranks of the ultra-competitive field to become principal at The Australian Ballet and also travelled the world to dance with the likes of the English National.

“I was away for about 19 years,” Daniel told news.com.au.

“I came back home as much as I could, but not enough, and I knew there were things I was missing.”

Daniel Gaudiello was principal of The Australian Ballet.

Daniel Gaudiello says he still feels guilty for being away from home for so long.

One big life event he missed the bulk of was his father’s sudden battle with stage-four lymphoma, which required intensive treatment and led to a multitude of complications.

“I really regret the time that dad got sick. My career was really happening that year and my family kept downplaying things, saying that he was fine, he’d be OK.

“But in hindsight, I really regret choosing my career over family. It was special to talk about that with dad on the trip. It was very emotional. Family is everything and I felt such guilt.”

He came home one holidays when Luigi was especially ill and realised how grave the situation was.

“It was really bad. We’re very lucky that he could fight it. I thank my lucky stars every day.”

Last year, he retired from ballet and moved home to Brisbane with his wife Lana Jones, also an acclaimed ballerina, and their baby.

“I’ve been away so long and you kind of forget how to be with your parents sometimes,” Daniel said. “So this trip was a really special opportunity.”

A moving video showing a father and son reconnecting in the great outdoors is the latest campaign for Great Northern beer.

Most weekends in his childhood were spent going camping or fishing with his dad, whose “happy place” is anywhere outdoors, Daniel explained.

When they were approached about going on a trip and sharing their father-son story for Great Northern, they jumped at the chance.

“We had the best time. It was a really special journey for dad and I. On the first day we went to this beautiful park that’s a bit of a cliff face, you’ve got to walk along this big, big boulder. It gave us a lot of time to talk and take in the scenery.

“It was just incredible from there, seeing so many beautiful spots and meeting some really great people.

“It was so great to do. That they would want to portray a different type of family, a different type of guy, in me, maybe not being the typical Australian bloke, reconnecting with my dad, was great. I’ll remember this forever. I think dad will remember it forever too.”

A moving video showing a father and son reconnecting in the great outdoors is the latest campaign for Great Northern beer.

Daniel said his dad remains in remission and is doing really well and staying positive about the future.

He’s also taken a leaf out of his globetrotting son’s book too.

“Everyday’s a blessing. I’ve told him to forget about inheritance and just get out there and live and have a good time. So, he’s getting out a lot and travelling.”

To help people reconnect in the outdoors this Father’s Day, Great Northern has created The Great ReCamp website with information about how and where to go camping