By Ian Neubauer

Tourism Australia has teamed up with director Baz Luhrmann to produce an international campaign to promote Australia and capitalise on the October launch of his new film.

Called Australia, the film is a period drama set during World War II featuring actors Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. The one-off campaign comprising a series of 30- and 60-second television commercials. print and online ads that will reflect some of the themes conveyed in the film.

The $50-million campaign will be rolled out in major markets in Europe, Asia and North America between October and March and will be supported by DDB Worldwide, which was this month appointed Tourism Australia’s new advertising agency.

“I congratulate Tourism Australia on their plan to build on the excitement around the release of Baz Luhrmann’s new movie through its promotion partnership with 20th Century Fox, as well as taking the opportunity to develop a new creative campaign to promote Australia to the world,” said Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson, at a Sydney press conference today (July 29).

“These are challenging times for the tourism industry and I hope this campaign will motive people around the world to visit Australia.”

Luhrmann said the film and campaign would aim to communicate Australia’s ability to deliver genuine experiences.

“There is something about this country. It has landscape and people that you can’t see anywhere else in the world. It’s hard to find a place that can provide a genuinely emotional experience,” he said. “The country and the film complement each other in a fundamental way. They are inextricably linked.”

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