So where the bloody hell are you? is a highly successful dollar|AU$" target="_blank" >^*180 million advertising campaign launched in 2006 by Tourism Australia created by London-based advertising agency M&C Saatchi.

The adverts feature images of Australians "preparing" for visitors to their country. It begins in an Outback pub with the barkeeper saying "we've poured you a beer". Further imagery to a similar effect is then shown, including a young boy on the beach saying "we've got the sharks out of the pool" and partygoers watching Sydney harbour fireworks saying "we've turned on the lights". The advert ends with bikini-clad model Lara Bingle stepping out of the sea and asking "so where the bloody hell are you?".

The campaign has received massive press coverage, and British prime minister Tony Blair even asked "Where the bloody hell am I?" when speaking in Australian Parliament and suffering from jet lag.

Controversy

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The advertising campaign caused controversy in March 2006 when it was banned by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre in the UK who would not allow the word "bloody" to be used in television versions of the commercial. This ban was seen as particularly pointless because accompanying print ads and cinema commercials for the campaign would not have been censored. Following lobbying by the Australia Tourism Commission, including a visit to the UK by Australia's tourism minister Fran Bailey and Sydney model Lara Bingle who appears in the ad, the ban was subsequently lifted. The controversy did, however, gain much media interest.

The advertisement has also been banned by regulators in Canada, owing to the implication of "unbranded alcohol consumption" by the opening line "we've bought you a beer". It has been allowed to run with no adverse regulator action in several other countries such as the United States and New Zealand (although New Zealand operates upon complaints rather than banning advertisements before airing).

Parodies

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Australian comedy writer Dan Ilic produced and released a parody of the ad towards the end of March 2006. The parody uses the structure of the Tourism Australia ad to make satirical reference to various current political controversies that might be of concern to potential tourists (eg "we got you some free accommodation" over shots of the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre). The parody was the subject of controversy in its own right when Ilic removed the ad from his company's web-site because Tourism Australia's lawyers had threatened legal action claiming the music "was infringing their copyright". According to Ilic, however, Downwind Media "commissioned ^* own song that is different in tune and tempo". As of 28 March 2006 four 'new special edition versions' of the parody were made available for download.

The Coromandel region of New Zealand also released a parody with the words "we're bloody well in the Coromandel".

References

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• Australian advert banned on UK TV — BBC News article
• Have a beer on Australia? No thanks, says Canada — Reuters news agency
• "Where the f****** hell are you?" — AdNews
• "Tourism spoof not bloody funny" — Sydney Morning Herald

External links

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• Campaign website (including the full uncensored advert)
• Australia.com tourism website
• Downwind media website

2006 in Australia | Advertising campaigns | Advertising slogans | Censorship | Tourism in Australia