March 10, 2006
THAT ad campaign is such a winner
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Censored: in the UK the ads will only be shown in cinemas |
Following in the footsteps of the mind-blastingly brilliant ‘Hoges‘ ads in the 1980s (some of you may remember the tv and cinema ads where he threw shrimps on barbies, went fishing with rope and anchor, got offended when one of the Beefeaters at the Bloody Tower swore at him and complained that London was guilty of gross plagiarism and a lack of imagination by naming many of its streets after the board game ‘Monopoly’), the latest “Where the bloody hell are you?” ad campaign is ‘going gangbusters’, as we say here in the Antipodes.
Based on a phrase used quite commonly, even amongst the literati (although they will deny it), it has so far enthralled and outraged so many of the overseas populace that we could face the same sort of 40% increase in tourism that the Hoges ads created in the 80s.
Kare Anderson, of ’sayitbetterkare’fame, pointed me to a post on her ‘Sausalito by the bay’ blog (note to myself: ’sausalito’ is not a sausage with a little sauce on it) talking about the storm the ad has successfully whipped up.
Even our ABC is amused by it all, as are the pollies (’politicians’ for non-Australians):
“Federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey says the regulators are being precious.”
It’s amusing really, seeing as how the same country that gave the world ‘Benny Hill‘, ‘the Two Ronnies‘, ‘Alf Garnett‘, ‘The Young Ones‘ (which turned the word ‘bastard’ into household usage in England) and ‘Ali G‘ has suddenly come over all school-boyish about the word ‘bloody’. I even remember that Dennis, a dim-witted character in the seminal 1970s comedy ‘Please Sir‘ used the word as the highest form of swear word he knew:
“You old, old… bloody, you!”
You can watch the ad yourself, streaming version only I’m afraid, on the campaign website.
But if you want to see an advert that brings patriotic tears to my eyes every time I replay it, here’s an ad that Aussie beer brewer Fosters created for the domestic market around the time of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. Yes, you can download it [2.2mb]. It’s a .mov so you might need Quicktime to view it.
Technorati: where the bloody hell are you?, word of mouth marketing, Australia,
Oh, and for those who wish to delve deep into the psyche of the bloggers they read, you can always download this video interview [4.4mb] with a former fiancee. Which is why I moved back to Australia. And changed my name. And shaved my head…
Stumble it!
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9 Responses to “THAT ad campaign is such a winner”
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March 11th, 2006 at 1:41 am
Today’s Wall Street Journal article about the campaign quotes Tom McFarlane of M&C Saatchi as saying “What we think this captures is the real Australia and who we really are – an easygoing, welcoming nation.” I think it’s a great campaign; it certainly works for me. Now if that plane ticket would just finally arrive…
March 11th, 2006 at 11:56 am
I had asked your secretary to book your flight, A… has she not done it? Fire her!
March 14th, 2006 at 4:42 am
[...] Related posts: THAT ad campaign is such a winner, Go on, surprise me, The Corporate Conversation in Australia, Australia Day [...]
March 14th, 2006 at 5:29 am
Foster’s. Love the ads. Hate the beer.
March 14th, 2006 at 6:39 am
.. in the self-deprecating, authentic spirit of the Aussies the state of Mississippi has a campaign I love and commented on http://sausalitobythebay.com/blog/yes-we-wear-shoes-and
(and mentioned Lee)
March 15th, 2006 at 1:45 am
..and today, Max Hitchins - The Hospitality Doctor in North Sydney is raving about the campaign in his newsletter.
He wrote, in part, ” The British Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre has ruled the slogan failed the Œtaste test‚ and that Œbloody‚ should be edited out, although it will be allowed online and in print. (However the Œb‚ word has often been on British TV and is also used in the English children‚s movie Harry Potter!) Now, this Œdouble standard‚ is getting Australia a whole heap of free media around the world. (Talk about good luck!)
Even allowing for my bias, as an Australian, I believe this is an extremely clever web sites and advertising campaign.:
March 15th, 2006 at 4:12 am
THAT ad campaign sure must have exceeded everyone’s expectations. Brilliant and harmless advert, but being banned is the best thing to happen to it — more PR mileage from that than the Poms (British) expected.
Mind you, if only we could teach Fosters how to make a decent beer to sell to the world… Much, much better is a little Tasmanian brewery called ‘Boags’ — if you get to see some, Bryan, avail yourself of a fine drop!
March 15th, 2006 at 4:13 am
By the way, Kare, did you listen to my report on For Immediate Release yesterday? I mentioned you and Sausalito… Let me know and if you missed it I’ll shoot you over the mp3
March 16th, 2006 at 9:27 am
[...] 58:20 From Our Correspondent Down Under: Lee Hopkins - the dearth of corporate conversation in Australia; that ‘bloody’ ad campaign; the ‘meeting’ yahtzee [...]