Tourism body pleased campaign reaction
19.03.2010, 18:18
Australia's tourism body says it has received an unprecedented response to its controversial new marketing campaign, some of which has been critical.
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Tourism Australia last week launched a series of advertisements aimed at international audiences and potential visitors to Australia, asking them: "So where the bloody hell are you?"
The campaign has attracted the criticism that it is dumbing down Australia and using what some see as offensive slang.
Tourism Australia board chairman Tim Fischer said there had been 22,000 hits on the agency's website, australia.com, in the first two days of the campaign.
Mr Fischer said the board had anticipated some reaction but had reviewed all aspects of the campaign at a meeting on the Gold Coast over the weekend and was happy with it.
"We anticipated some static and some debate about how intelligent is the country that gave the world penicillin," Mr Fischer said.
"But, come to think of it, using a penicillin or medical science hook is not really going to draw tourists to Australia, with painful memories of their own penicillin shots over the years." Mr Fischer said the interest in the campaign showed Tourism Australia was justified in spending $6 million on research.
"The $6 million is proving to be money well spent," he said.
Mr Fischer said the board was also pleased with the initial international media coverage.
"Tourism Minister Fran Bailey has already done several BBC interviews and the BBC ran the ad in full as part of their news story," Mr Fischer said.
"Clearly this helped spark interest world-wide in the new campaign."
The first TV advertisements will run on Australian commercial stations on Sunday night.
The campaign will be launched in Auckland on Monday by Tourism Australia chief Scott Morrison.
New Zealand is Australia's largest tourist market, with more than one million people crossing the Tasman every year.
Mr Fischer said the campaign would also have a European launch, in Berlin on March 10.
Federal MPs will be briefed on the campaign in Canberra on Wednesday.