A new tourism ad designed to entice Brits into booking an Australian getaway is being criticised by Australians for ignoring the current state of the country, which continues to be ravaged by bushfires.
Dear United Kingdom,
Your besties across the ocean are calling. ?
Love,
Your mates in Australia #matesong pic.twitter.com/eAROy5p1Vn— Australia (@Australia) December 25, 2019
The “Mate Song” ad stars Australia’s pop princess Kylie Minogue, as well as comedian Adam Hills and cricketer Shane Warne, and depicts Australia as a great, relaxing place to tune out the woes of the real world, and is aimed directly at cashed-up, stressed out Brits who are sick to death of hearing about Brexit everyday.
Did we mention the ad is also very, very white? It’s very, very white.
None of the mates seem to be people of colour despite being a fifth of the population #matesong https://t.co/OwQA2rHzEG
— Oz (@redrabbleroz) December 25, 2019
Well some Blackfullas were in there as exotic, exceptional or entertaining but this was clearly an ad targeted at white folks assuring how them how much the colony is just like the *mother country* #LiveOurPhilausophy #Matesong https://t.co/QZbZ138otW
— chelsea bond (@drcbond) December 26, 2019
It’s be great if we could finally have an Australian tourism ad that features Indigenous Australians as autonomous individuals instead of cultural props for a white subject. #MateSong
— Amplify Magazine (@MagazineAmplify) December 26, 2019
I’m trying to get my head around how Tourism Australia thought it was a good idea to play on Brexit anxieties by asking UK people to travel to where ‘we speak your language’ while also telling non-English speakers they’re not welcome ? Was #matesong Scotty from Marketing’s idea?
— ?Queen Victoria (@Vic_Rollison) December 25, 2019
I hated this. “Hi Poms, come to Australia, where white people relax, turn their brains off and ignore that world is fukt”
Maybe in that way it’s actually the truest ad for Australia https://t.co/0nU72U3Ymk
— Mel Campbell (@incrediblemelk) December 26, 2019
At one point in “Mate Song”, Kylie reclines on a beach chair, singing: “We can turn off the news, and you can kick off your shoes.”
Although OG Neighbours fans will be excited to see Kylie dressed as her character Charlene once again, critics of the ad were quick to point out that Australia hasn’t exactly been the peaceful refuge it’s being made out to be, recently.
Kylie in Charlene’s overalls… that just made my Christmas #MateSong https://t.co/jMGk6SRd8X
— Derran Llewellyn (@LlewellynDerran) December 25, 2019
Just my 5c but I thinks possible to simultaneosly:
1) understand the purpose of the #MateSong ad.
2) like it.
3) maintain full disgust for our frightful national treatment of refugees & indigenous people.
4) think Shane Warne is still a dickhead.— Adam Voigt ?? (@adam_voigt) December 27, 2019
Many people have called out the ad’s unfortunate timing, noting the ongoing bushfires, decimation of the koala population, high temperatures and drought conditions that Australians are continuing to face.
Who is making the alternative version of this ad? Bushfires, koalas screaming in trees, dustbowl landscapes, smoke clogged cities with hazardous skies and oceans full of ash? #matesong https://t.co/K4qfH7S64p
— Philippa Bateman (@PhilippaBateman) December 27, 2019
I also dislike the dishonesty: come visit because we're sweet and chuckly and laid back. Our environment is pristine.
But this just isn't true. We are angry and divided. Some of us are deeply distressed at the trashing of our environment. Our govt just doesn't care.#MateSong https://t.co/iLac7kGlit
— Dangerous Meredith (@DangerousMere) December 26, 2019
C'mon over mates, we are having a barbie. ?
The whole country is cooking infact#ThrowAnotherKoalaOnTheFireStorm #AustraliaBurns pic.twitter.com/lqpAsFs8fN
— Max Black ? (@maxblackhole) December 26, 2019
This is Australia at the moment. Our government doesn’t believe in climate change so this is what our future looks like. By the way bring a breathing mask because we have excessive smoke everywhere. Hotels are air conditioned so you can stay indoors. pic.twitter.com/YpyfLT8Yyb
— ?margo69?????? (@margo694) December 25, 2019
And a few pointed out that Kylie and Adam don’t actually live here, even if they still call Australia home.
Bad timing. Very. Bad. Timing.
Australia is on fire, in drought, extreme heatwaves.
And if the main Aussie stars of this ad (Kylie Minogue & Adam Hills) love Australia so much – why do they live in the UK?
— Kerry Jaggers (@kezincanberra) December 26, 2019
Don't apologise. This is a fantasy version of Australia.
I love Kylie, and the song is catchy, but we are not the laidback and carefree people that we like to think we are.
As for the coal, sorry world, but our politicians don't have the ticker to do the right thing.— ?️? (@Darrenjca) December 25, 2019
Dear UK. Police will greet you on arrival with semi automatic guns, the country is on fire, the air is unbreathable, towns have no water, the koala/native animal population has been obliterated, it's 47°C in some parts. Kylie & Adam live in London for a reason…. #matesong
— Michelle (@mishyloan) December 26, 2019
Frankly I’m stunned that in the middle of an unprecedented national bushfire emergency – the Govt thinks it’s a good time to launch an ad campaign to attract UK tourists – & then some are surprised that people are calling this out? Extraordinary #matesong #auspol
— ?? Denise Shrivell (@deniseshrivell) December 26, 2019
Ahh… at least the quokkas are still cute???