I love Australia. Sydney is like a cross between New York City and London, which happen to be two of my most favorite (OK, favourite) cities in the world. The Great Barrier Reef is just amazing. And since we went to Australia in 2015 and didn’t die, I can hardly wait to go back to explore Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and other famous cities with cool places for us to explore.
I also love Australians. Honest, caring and friendly, they also tend to have a wicked and decidedly “adult” sense of humor that you just don’t see as much in the U.S., which, on the whole, is much more puritan.
Case in point…
(NSFW warning. The next section includes images that could be interpreted as “too adult”)
In 2016, an unofficial tourism project called an “independent underground campaign” came out for Australia’s Northern Territory. It was targeted at young people and its logos and typography satirized the official Tourism NT website’s feel and look. It stood for, of course, “See You In The Northern Territory.” But it was much more clever 😉
CU in the NT has its own Facebook and Instagram presence and to this very day, still focuses on tourism to the Northern Territory. But they sell a lot of CU in the NT stuff (hoodies, shirts, mugs, masks, etc.).
As I said earlier, that all started in 2016. And now South Australia has (unofficially) said, “Hold my Foster’s.”
Y’see, South Australia is known for its wonderful chefs, amazing wines (if it’s from Melbourne, I love it!) and lots and lots of organic edibles (no, not those kinds of edibles).
So what new ad campaign did THEY get?
Go Down South With Your Mouth.
And yes, they have a Facebook…AND an Instagram. And they sell merch 😉
A press release states: “In response to a year of adversity and commercial hardship, the Taste Down South campaign positions South Australia as a destination for fellow Australians with untapped potential.
“It aims to change the perception of those yet to experience Down South by promoting the unique strengths in South Australia’s culinary and hospitality industry.
“While we can’t travel abroad, South Australia is a mesh of exciting, multicultural cuisine with industry personnel from all over the world calling it home.
“Our diverse pocket of Australia is home to world-class chefs, industry-leading winemakers, and producers of the most sought after organic delights. Its comfortable climate allows visitors to enjoy the finest flavours with a backdrop of spectacular natural landscapes and stunning cities.”
They even have a video:
And yep, it’s just as unofficial as the Northern territory ad campaign. In fact, a spokesperson for the South Australian Tourism Commission was even quoted as saying, “It’s so not us.”;-)
Anyway, ABC.net.au did their research and, not surprisingly, the ads for both the Northern Territory and South Australia were created by the same two entrepreneurs, Adam Blackburn and Blaze Tripp.
No word yet on how well or badly South Australia’s unofficial ad campaign is doing, but CU in the NT has been banned in a few places. However Blackburn and Tripp said they never mean to offend.
“We’re just a couple of blokes that are knocking up some ideas,” Mr. Blackburn.
“It’s an invitation to the greatest territory in the world mate, that’s what it is.”
According to ABC.net.au, Messrs. Blackburn and Blaze own websites for several tongue-in-cheek campaigns that sell merchandise online.
Frankly, I think they’re brilliant! 😉
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
3 comments
You stated “Y’see, South Australia is known for its wonderful chefs, amazing wines (if it’s from Melbourne, I love it!)” – isn’t Melbourne in Victoria? I do love Melbourne, but I enjoy Adelaide SA even more. 🙂
You’re right, my bad. I don’t know the states in Australia as well as I do the ones in the U.S. I knew that Melbourne was in southern Australia and should have looked at a map to see that even though that’s so, it doesn’t necessarily equate South Australia 😉
South Australia is also where you can see the penis puppet show.