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Tourism Australia ad: compelling or codswallop?

Posted in General October 8th, 2008 by ellie wallis

Tourism Australia ad The latest offering has the strapline “Come Walkabout”, not a reference to plunging into a chain of loud, crowded bars but rather referring to the ancient Aboriginal spiritual practice of heading out into the Australian Bush for a period of reflection on one’s place in the world and universe.

Big stuff to swallow for an ad campaign. Luhrmann’s take is that in the Western world we are losing site of what’s important with our addiction to work and technology. A trip to Aus will restore balance, harmony and romance. Excellent. I’ll pack my joss sticks and book a flight now

The campaign looks great but I’m uneasy about annexing the Aboriginal mysticism and rites to help sell the country. Would the US of A put Native Americans doing Ghost Dances in ads? Does it matter?

I guess if anyone has the right to exploit – there, I’ve said it – the Aboriginal culture, it is Australia itself. It just nags at me that anyone with even a glancing knowledge of the continent’s history knows that the Aborigines didn’t get (are still not getting?) a fair deal. Also, whether a visitor to the country will actually encounter any of its original natives and their magic sand – as depicted in the ad - is pretty moot, as Aborigines only account for two per cent of the population. Have a look at the ad here and tell me what you think.

To read the related news story click here and to view the ad see below

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Tags Tourism Australia, TV ad campaign, Baz Luhrmann

Comments (2)

Mel Varley’s comment is....

I think this campaign is too emotional to represent Australia. Australian’s are notorious for being prudes and also lacking emotions and the ability to express feelings.
In my opinion, this campaign doesn’t say anything about the country and viewers might have a hard time identifying what the ad is actually about or what it is saying. The endline is pretty inventive though: “Come to Australia”.
It almost makes it sound threatening. I am a little disappointed in the campaign. This was hotly anticipated as it was rumoured to make links to Baz Lurhman’s new film AUSTRALIA. However, there are no links or even a mention of the film. The ad does have Baz written all over it though - and it just happens to be too over the top for a tourism campaign. Bring back that other bloody campaign. It at least gave us a good idea of the sunburnt country.

Posted October 8th, 2008 at 2:00 pm

lozza’s comment is....

I actually really liked this advert when I saw it on tv. It had a nice calming influence in amidst the loud, aggressive adverts that really grate on me. I think the main attraction of the advert is the beautiful scenary, which would no doubt make someone want to visit Australia whatever the ‘deep’ thinking behind the concept of the advert.

Perhaps Australians are trying to dispel their reputation as ‘unemotional’? (A little harsh I thought!)

Posted October 15th, 2008 at 4:26 pm

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