Tourism Australia has launched $40 million advertising campaign ahead of international borders reopening.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Vaccinated international tourists will be able to fly into Australia from Monday for the first time in two years after being locked out because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The "Don't go small. Go Australia" campaign is targeting tourists from the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the US, including billboards in Times Square in New York City.
With that, Australian Community Media has looked back at some of the successful and not-so-successful campaigns from the Tourism Australia archive.
So where the bloody hell are you? (2006)
Perhaps Tourism Australia's most infamous campaign, the "So where the bloody hell are you?" advertisement caused controversy around the world.
Current Prime Minister Scott Morrison approved the advertisement while he was managing director of Tourism Australia when the campaign launched in 2006.
The advertisement featured a number of odd moments, such as an Indigenous Australian saying she has been "rehearsing for 40,000 years" - reducing the world's oldest culture to a performance for tourists.
It girl Lara Bingle ended the advertisement on the beach with the now-famous words: "So where the bloody hell are you?"
Unfortunately, the use of the word "bloody" caused the advertisement to be banned from television and billboards in the UK in 2007.
Television advertisements in the UK were able to resume after 9pm following a visit from the Tourism Minister and Lara Bingle to negotiate.
It was also banned in Canada over "unbranded alcohol consumption" and altered to "So where are you?" in Singapore.
However, it was allowed to run with no adverse action in countries such as the United States and New Zealand.
After being launched in 2006, the advertisement was eventually pulled from the air in 2008.
READ MORE:
Crocodile Dundee Super Bowl ad (2018)
Over the years, Tourism Australia has learned to make better use of its star power in advertising campaigns.
A Crocodile Dundee-inspired advertisement in 2018 featured Liam Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, Margot Robbie, Russell Crowe, Ruby Rose, Isla Fisher, Luke Bracey and Jessica Mauboy.
Initially giving the appearance of an official film trailer for a new Crocodile Dundee movie, the ad then switched into a showcase for Australian tourism.
American actor Danny McBride played Brian Dundee, the long-lost son of Mick Dundee, while Hemsworth played his sidekick Wally Jr as they explored Australia.
The advertisement also featured during the Super Bowl in US, where it was broadcast to a TV audience of more than 100 million Americans during the Big Game.
Collaboration with Flight Facilities (2022)
Tourism Australia's most recent advertising campaign is by far its most popular with 20 million views on YouTube alone.
The "Tune into Aus" advertisement features music by electronic music duo Flight Facilities and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
In addition, it also has "immersive 8D sound" of the various noises of Australia such as birds, running water and rustling plants.
8D audio is a sound engineering treatment in which the music and effects sound like they're coming from different directions while wearing headphones
Every single state and territory is featured in the ad with locations such as Sydney Harbour, the Great Ocean Road, the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu National Park.