Gold Coast says Baz campaign promotes dusty image of Oz

A goldcoast.com.au report says that Gold Coast tourism bosses are concerned that a $50 million national advertising campaign to cash in on the epic movie Australia will stereotype the country as a dusty, Outback destination, dominated by horses, Aborigines and drovers.

Gold Coast Tourism chief executive Martin Winter said yesterday there was a concern that Tourism Australia was ‘putting all its eggs in the one basket’.

He said TA had to come up now with alternative strategies aimed at promoting the sun, sand and surf, rather than just the Outback image created by the movie, which stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

Mr Winter said spending the $50 million on the campaign was a bold decision. “It’s putting a lot of eggs in the one basket and it means the success of the campaign will be directly linked to the success of the movie,” he said.

“On the surface, the imagery will be dominated by rural and outback images and that certainly would not fit in with our region.”

“Yes, we do have concerns but we’re working very hard with TA on our relationship and how we can work together on international markets such as Japan.”

“Hopefully, that co-operation will outweigh the lack of direct benefits that are derived from a campaign which concentrates almost exclusively on the Outback.”

The one-off campaign, which will cost Tourism Australia $50 million over 12 months, does not mention the movie directly, but TA says it will reflect its ’emotion’.

Movie director Baz Luhrmann told reporters yesterday he was hoping to convey an ’emotional experience’ that was possible from ‘going the extra distance and coming to this unique special place on the edge of the world’.

The campaign will run from October until the middle of 2009.

Luhrmann said staying on location about an hour outside Kununurra in Western Australia during filming of the movie was more emotional than he had imagined.

“Because I had to be on set early, I said I’ll stay one night. They put the van out and I never left for all of the five weeks we were there,” he said.

“The sun would come down … we’d sit around the fire and you’d look up at that sky and yes, I had that experience.”

“I remember sitting there thinking, no matter what the outcome of the film, this is what I’m looking for. I am still in this moment, that’s what this place can do for you.”

Australian Tourism Export Council managing director Matt Hingerty said the campaign was ‘an amazing opportunity’ for the export tourism industry.

“To have the talents of the man responsible for creating Moulin Rouge and Strictly Ballroom promoting Australia is great news in anyone’s book,” he said. “This is just the tonic Australia’s export tourism sector needs right now.”

Mr Hingerty said early snippets from Australia looked extremely promising and reinforced the nation’s position as one of the most desirable travel and holiday destinations in the world.

“Australia is not just a single destination — there is a wealth of different experiences in each and every state and region,” said Mr Hingerty.

“We need to encourage international visitors out of the capital cities into the regions, and from what I’ve seen so far Australia seems to hold great promise in this regard.”

Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson admitted the Australian tourism industry was struggling in a tough market made worse by the tyranny of distance, a strong Australian dollar and high fuel prices.

He said Tourism Australia’s last campaign — ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ — had been a ‘dismal failure’ in some markets such as Asia.

“We’ve put it in the can and we see this opportunity that has just jumped out at us,” he said.

A Report by The Mole from goldcoast.com.au