The distinct and defining character of Australia and of Australians will be celebrated in a new campaign unveiled by Tourism Australia today.
Developed with the help of agency partners M&C Saatchi, Digitas and UM, ‘Come Live our Philausophy’ aims to capture the philosophy of Australians and their informal approach to living – something that is appealing to visitors, according to research by Tourism Australia.
A suite of new creative assets have been developed for the global campaign, including over 5,000 new images captured across every state and territory, a series of industry videos, bespoke social content, and a refresh of the australia.com and Australia.cn websites.
Also part of the campaign is a book featuring well-known Aussie icons who provide their own personal perspectives and experiences that help explain the unique Australian way of life.
Tourism Australia’s latest global campaign strategy is part of a $38 million investment that will be rolled out in the country’s 15 key tourism markets over the next three years to attract more international tourists Down Under.
Speaking to B&T ahead of the campaign reveal, Tourism Australia CMO Susan Coghill said: “Putting our people and our personality at the forefront of our campaign activity is something we’ve been moving towards for a few years now.
“With Philausophy, we’ve taken the learnings from recent campaigns, whilst at the same time drawing upon and tapping into consumer research that clearly demonstrates the Australian way of life is a point of difference and highly appealing to high-value travellers.”
https://twitter.com/Australia/status/1189303964589854722
Tourism Australia CEO Phillipa Harrison said the concept of the campaign was part of M&C Saatchi’s winning pitch for the creative services tender back in 2018.
“A lot of the strategic work is as it was in the pitch, and we’ve just evolved its execution quite a bit over time,” she told B&T.
“The pitch brief was pretty specific. We had an ambition to really build on ‘Dundee’ and dialling up the Australian personality because we felt this would really work, and M&C Saatchi just took that and ran with it, and did a great job with it.
“We feel like the moment coming up is a big moment, and that it will live up to Dundee.”
Dundee is of course the multi-award-winning campaign Tourism Australia launched last year at the Super Bowl, and the organisation is set to launch a “time-specific” iteration of this ad in the next few months.
“We do have our next Dundee, but not for the US – we’re looking at a different market,” Coghill said.
Tourism Australia wouldn’t confirm or deny if a Hemsworth would front the next Dundee ad. However, Harrison did offer B&T this vague clue: “You can expect a notable Australian whose love of Australia is epic.”
Commenting on the Philausophy campaign, M&C Saatchi chief creative officer Cam Blackley said: “Although a cute way to spell it, Philausophy celebrates the very real and unique systems of belief that Aussies have developed for not just hundreds, but thousands of years.
“Paired with our extraordinary landscape, it’s a refreshing point of difference and incredibly fertile creative space that can and will live way beyond traditional advertising channels.”
Russell Hopson, group managing director at M&C Saatchi, added: “As we all know, Australia has so much to offer the world and the Aussie way of thinking about life is a massive part of that.
“Philausophy might just be exactly what the world needs right now. The launch of the campaign is the tip of the iceberg – we’re beyond excited to bring it out into the light. Just like Australia and Australians, there’s always more exciting stuff to come.”
Sophie Bingham, general manager of UM Sydney, said: “Reimagining the way we invite the world to experience Australia is a once-in-a-lifetime brief – not just what we say, but how we say it in a truly Australian way.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Tourism Australia on this relaunch and see the campaign come to life through our global media connections and partnerships, both this year and into the future.”
Digitas creative director Simon Brock said: “It’s never been tougher to stand out in the tourism industry. Gorgeous travel imagery is ubiquitous, thanks to Instagram. Global stories are a tap away, thanks to Netflix.
“To cut through, you need something uniquely ownable that people want and can’t get through a screen. That’s exactly what Philausophy is – a way of life that can only be felt by visiting and exploring Australia.
“What I love most about Philausophy is that it belongs to us – all Aussies – celebrating something about ourselves that we often take for granted, but never goes unnoticed by those who visit our shores.”
The campaign will start rolling out internationally in the coming months. It comes just weeks after Tourism Australia launched a campaign that aims to attract Indians to the country during the men’s and women’s ICC Cricket World Cups in 2020.
CREDITS
Creative: M&C Saatchi Sydney
Chief creative officer: Cam Blackley
Executive creative directors: Mandie van der Merwe and Avish Gordhan
Head of art: Chris Cheeseman
Senior copywriter: Dave Govier
Art director: Matt Corcoran
Copywriter: Rubini Gun
Group managing partner: Russell Hopson
Group head: Emma McJury
Senior account director: Nikki Chapman
Account director: Charlotte O’Brien
Account manager: Sarah Dillon
Design director: Simone Cherry
Designer: Alice Schofield
Senior TV producer: Sarah Cowen
Lead print producer: Greg Hyslop
Senior integrated producer: Henry Welch
Lead project manager: James Steer
Chief strategy officer: Justin Graham
Head of strategy: Rachael Fraser
Senior strategy director: Nick Jacobs
Senior traffic manager: Jenny Doyle
Retouchers: Nicko Mueller and Richard Hughes
Finished artists: Ian Hartigan and Holly Jones
Production (photography): The Artist Group
Photographer: Georges Antoni
Executive producer: Camille Peck
Producers: Jo Sinclair and Ilona Hyland
Production assistant: Alisha Harding
Stylist: Nicole Bonython-Hines
Styling assistant: Susannah Snow
Hair and makeup: Allison Boyle, Michael Brennan, Linda Jefferyes, Noni Smith, Wayne Chic, and Julia Green
Photography assistants: Ollie Begg and Chris Proud
Drone pilot/second photography assistant: Ken Butti
Contemporary Aboriginal artist: Rachael Sarra
Production (film): Sweetshop Sydney
Director: Nick Kelly
Executive producer: Llew Griffiths
Directors of photography: Shelley Farthing-Dawe and James Brown
Underwater director of production: Lee Kelly
Camera operator: Matt Jenkins
Drone operators: Cameron Board, Nathan Richards and Ewan Donnachie
Production designer: Toby Churchill-Brown
Costume designer: Lou Spargo
Hair and makeup: Mat Hornby
Editorial: ARC Edit
Editor: Simon Price
Post-production: ARC Edit
Colourist: Fergus Rotherham
VFX artists: Eugene Richards and Chris Betteridge
Post-producer: Jess Calvert
Sound: Song Zu, Sydney
Composition: Song Zu, Sydney
Creative director: Ramesh Sathiah
Supervising sound editor: Abigail Sie
Sound studio producer: Meg Drummond
Industry videos: Jack Nimble
Directors: Adam Wise and Angus Mullane
Director of photography and editor: Tim Eddy
Sound recordist: Nathan Bell
Camera assistant: Hugo Odgers
Producer: Hayley Olsson
Assistant editor: Kelly Searancke
Colourist: Matt Campbell
Music: Jonny Higgins
Media: UM (global team)
Senior strategy director: Jack Graham
Senior client director: Ashleigh Markou
Senior digital partnerships manager: Anthony Thomas
Digital director: Sarina Ballauff
General manager, Sydney: Sophie Bingham
Digital: Digitas
Head of production: Lizzie Strobel
Client partner: Oli Cassidy
Tech director: Rich Thompson
Creative director: Simon Brock
Account director: Max Cahill
Design lead: Oliver Ree
Senior copywriter: Hannah Melanson
Design director: Emma Gough
Lead AEM developer: Elise Boinnot
Senior project manager: Jade Skinner
Account manager: Rachel Malone
Senior AEM developer: Stephen Smithstone
Senior FE developer: Sahil Jackar
Senior AEM developer: Kanwal Singh
QA lead: Ranjani Raveendra
Public relations: opr Agency
Chief strategy officer: Kaz Scott
Chief creative officer: Bridget Jung
Associate director: Luke McClelland
Account director: Ellee Donald
Strategy and planning manager: Laura Stoll
Chief digital officer: Daniel Young
Senior digital strategist: John Harding-Easson
Publicist: Madeleine Hanley
Senior account manager: Zoe O’Sullivan
Content manager: Shanna Hall
Senior account executive: Madison Scott