Tourism Australia: Dundee
Tourism Australia needed to re-energize global interest in Australia as a premier travel destination, moving beyond traditional scenic ads. They aimed to attract a broad international audience by creating highly engaging, shareable content that highlighted Australia's unique spirit and diverse offerings, ultimately driving increased tourism.
Creative Idea
A fake movie trailer for a Crocodile Dundee sequel became a tourism ad.
Tourism Australia leveraged the iconic Crocodile Dundee franchise with a meta-narrative, presenting a fake movie trailer that humorously revealed itself as a tourism ad, using a new Dundee character to showcase Australia's diverse attractions and inviting viewers to experience them.
The Hollywood Heist That Fooled the World
A Masterclass in Earned Media
To pull off the Trojan Horse strategy, Droga5 and production partners Revolver/Will O’Rourke and Biscuit Filmworks operated with the secrecy of a major studio. They created a fake IMDb page, a dedicated movie website, and issued press releases to Hollywood trades. The ruse was so effective that the "trailer" reached an 8.2/10 rating on IMDb before the reveal. Fans even launched a petition for a feature-length sequel starring Danny McBride and Chris Hemsworth. This marked the first time brothers Chris and Liam Hemsworth appeared on screen together, supported by a "who's who" of Australian talent including Margot Robbie, Hugh Jackman, and Russell Crowe.
Converting Awareness into Action
While the Super Bowl ad reached 103.3 million viewers, the campaign's true success lay in its digital tail. It generated over 367,000 leads to Australia.com and a 900% increase in organic booking inquiries. Lisa Ronson, CMO of Tourism Australia, noted that only a brand with their specific "cheekiness" could pull off such a stunt. The strategy targeted High Value Travelers in the US to bridge the gap between "dreaming" and "booking." By the end of the campaign, there was an 83% increase in intent to book among the target demographic.
Legacy of the Knife
Director Steve Rogers utilized a $36 million total investment to generate an earned media value of $85.1 million, representing a 6:1 ROI. This was the largest US investment for the brand since the original 1984 "Come Say G’Day" campaign. Original star Paul Hogan served as an executive producer to ensure the Dundee legacy remained intact while the brand transitioned from 1980s nostalgia to a modern tourism powerhouse.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Tourism Australia could credibly deliver an authentic, humorous, and adventurous portrayal of Australia's unique landscapes and culture, leveraging its national identity.
Category
Tourism advertising often relies on generic scenic montages or aspirational lifestyle shots, sometimes lacking a distinctive narrative or memorable character.
Customer
Audiences desired engaging, shareable content that offered a fresh, entertaining perspective on travel, moving beyond conventional, often bland, destination marketing.
Culture
A cultural appetite for nostalgic reboots and meta-humor, combined with a desire for authentic, less polished portrayals of destinations, made this approach resonate.
Company
Tourism Australia could credibly deliver an authentic, humorous, and adventurous portrayal of Australia's unique landscapes and culture, leveraging its national identity.
Category
Tourism advertising often relies on generic scenic montages or aspirational lifestyle shots, sometimes lacking a distinctive narrative or memorable character.
Strategy:
Leverage iconic cultural touchstones to create an unexpected, humorous narrative that redefines destination advertising.
Customer
Audiences desired engaging, shareable content that offered a fresh, entertaining perspective on travel, moving beyond conventional, often bland, destination marketing.
Culture
A cultural appetite for nostalgic reboots and meta-humor, combined with a desire for authentic, less polished portrayals of destinations, made this approach resonate.
Strategy:
Leverage iconic cultural touchstones to create an unexpected, humorous narrative that redefines destination advertising.
Results
The campaign was seen by more than one billion people. Pre-Super Bowl Digital Engagement (Jan 1 - 25, 2018, Source: Amobee Brand Intelligence) ranked Tourism Australia #1, surpassing Pepsi, Budweiser, Bud Light, Skittles, Coca-Cola, Groupon, Squarespace, Hyundai, and Toyota. The campaign generated 14,478 TV segments + press articles (Source: Meltwater Report). It was the #1 searched, #1 shared, and #1 viewed Super Bowl campaign (Source: Visible Measures). It achieved the Highest ad-recall of all time in the Facebook US Entertainment Category (Source: Facebook). The campaign earned $85.1 million in media (Source: Meltwater Report) and a total media reach of 9.2 billion (Source: Meltwater Report). It led to a 900% increase in organic booking inquiries (Source: Via Australia.com). The fake "Dundee" movie even scored 8.2/10 on IMDb.
9.2 billion
media reach
$85.1 million
earned media
900%
increase in organic booking inquiries
Strategy Technique
Borrow Equity
By borrowing the iconic Crocodile Dundee franchise, Tourism Australia instantly tapped into global recognition and affection for Australia. This allowed them to create an engaging, humorous narrative.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Reverse Expectations
The campaign built anticipation as a movie trailer, then cleverly subverted expectations by revealing itself as a tourism ad. This unexpected twist created memorable humor and engagement.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional in its audacious, multi-layered strategic acting, supported by stellar acting, meticulous art direction, and convincing digital craft that together created a global deception to promote tourism.
The convincing performances from the all-star cast, particularly in the initial teasers and the Super Bowl ad, were critical in selling the authenticity of the 'movie' to a global audience.
The meticulous design of all campaign assets, from movie posters and Times Square billboards to social media graphics, consistently maintained the high-fidelity illusion of a genuine film release.
The magic stemmed from the seamless integration of a bold strategic idea with compelling acting performances, supported by meticulous art direction and digital craft that built and sustained an incredibly convincing fake movie universe.
