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There’s bloody nothing like bloody Australia

April 1st, 2010 by Ben Fahy

18 comments ↓

The first phase of Australia’s new brand positioning was revealed yesterday and there’s no sign of any bikini-clad Bingles or shrimps on barbies. Far from it, in fact. With the tagline ‘There’s nothing like Australia’, the Aussies have played it safe and kept things simple (some might say bland or even insipid *ahem, RWC, ahem*) so as not to cause any great offence to the hoi polloi, something they seem to have made a habit of in the past.

The big change in the DDB-created campaign is the move away from the unsuccessful TV-centric “big bang approach” of the ‘Where the Bloody Hell Are You’ campaign. Instead, the first stage is based on some slow-burning patriotic crowd-sourcing, with Aussies being implored to upload pics of their favourite spots/experiences and tell everyone (in 25 words) why there’s nothing like, for example, driving the scenic route and looking at gum trees and brown lakes.

All these comments and images will then become the basis of the international TV, print and online campaign to follow, and the tips will be used to create an interactive, searchable map that Tourism Australia hopes will be something of an ‘insider’s guide’ (check out the tourism video here).

With research showing around 80 percent of Australians thought they could help promote the tourism industry themselves, Andrew McEvoy, managing director of Tourism Australia, hopes the campaign will tap into that advocacy.

“Australians telling each other and the world what is amazing about our country is something this campaign will capture,” he told B&T. “We’ll actually create the ultimate insiders guide to Australia, told by Australians and told to the world. That’s the insight. I think it’s a campaign that needs to build over time. One thing I will say is that we have chopped and changed too much in our tourism marketing history. I believe this is a campaign for the next decade plus. It is a campaign line that can grow.”

Tourism New Zealand wouldn’t comment on the Aussie campaign, nor would its agency Assignment. But we all know 100% Pure New Zealand is still the campaign to beat (check out the Kiwi hijacking of the Aussie campaign here and here) and, as such, we think we could offer some help to our Australian friends. So, add your effort to the comment wall, whether it be a completely new slogan or an example of something there isn’t anything like in Australia, and the best slogans will receive three bottles each of the fancy new Toi Toi celebration wines.

The Marlborough vineyard has added a sparkling sauvignon blanc and a sparkling rose to its arsenal of delectable beverages. And for weaklings who can’t get through a whole bottle of the fizzy goodness, you’ll be pleased to know they both feature a re-sealable ‘Zork’ cork.

Find out about (and order) the new Toi Toi wines here.

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Tags: Australia, DDB, Marketing, sparkling wine, Toi Toi