Ogilvy On Advertising…Australia As A Tourist Destination

Tourism Australia has just launched a new advertising campaign and the style reverts to a more traditional format after the somewhat arthouse style of the previous Baz Luhrmann created ads.

Unsurprisingly, there’s been a chorus of complaints from sections of the intelligentsia bewailing the “unsophisticated” image the ad presents.

Here’s the ad “There’s Nothing Like Australia”…

OK, let’s see what a real expert on the subject, the great David Ogilvy would have to say…

In the book “Ogilvy On Advertising”, there is an entire chapter devoted to “How To Advertise Foreign Travel”.

The key point?

You have to show your audience the places and things that they desire to visit…not what you think they should want to visit.

In Ogilvy’s words…

“When you undertake to advertise a foreign country, you have to be prepared for a lot of political flak.  Research told me that what American tourists most wanted to see in Britain was history and tradition…So that is what I featured in the advertisements, only to be slaughtered in the British press for projecting an image of a country living in the past.”

So did it work?

“When our campaign started, Britain was the fifth most visited European country among American tourists.  Today it is first.”

Note the importance of research to discover what your audience wants.

Other points…

1. Sometimes it’s advisable to correct the image of a country, if there is a genuine misunderstanding in the mind of the target audience.

2. Most advertising for countries should be designed to plant a long term image of the country…BUT there are occasions when it can be used to solve temporary image problems.

3. Choose things to illustrate that are unique to the country.

Other words of wisdom…

“People dream about visiting foreign countries.  The job of your advertising is to convert their dreams into action.  This can best be done by combining mouth-watering photographs with specific how-to-do-it information.”

So how does “There’s Nothing Like Australia” stack up?

I’d suggest pretty well on Ogilvy’s criteria.  The key point, of course, is has the right research been done?  My guess is that the ad does indeed capture the main reasons why people want to visit Australia.

I confess the ad is a little “twee” for my tastes but I find it charming nonetheless and that tune is catchy!

We’ll see what the results are like.