From ‘Old Mate’ to Sports Illustrated: More of SA Tourism’s campaign cash splashes
Sam Smith’s SA sojourn is far from the state government’s first celeb ‘cash for appearance’. From $750 tweets to swimsuit models, here are some of tourism’s biggest hits – and misses.
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While Premier Peter Malinauskas has admitted he “didn’t know” who Sam Smith was before inviting the global superstar to SA, the state government’s $500,00 investment in the singer’s McLaren Vale gig has certainly drawn attention.
Smith played an intimate 300-person show for celebrities and influencers at d’Arenberg Cube as part of a taxpayer-funded tourism pitch, which has faced backlash over its exclusive guest list.
But “cash for appearance” gigs are nothing new for the South Australian Tourism Commission – just ask special Valo Adelaide 500 guests Zara Tindall, granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and niece of King Charles III, and actor Rachel Griffiths.
As is par for the “commercial-in-confidence” course, the true sums behind celebrities, models or big-dollar advertising campaigns in SA are rarely disclosed, but their success is highly scrutinised.
From ‘Old Mate’ to $750 C-grade celebs’ Kangaroo Island tweets, here are some of SATC’s greatest hits – and misses – and the governments that backed them.
Sports Illustrated – 2018/19 (Marshall Liberal government)
In 2018, a Marshall government pitch to get Kangaroo Island on the map – with help from some of the world’s most beautiful women – failed to impress taxpayers.
World-famous supermodels took over the island for a bikini-clad Sports Illustrated cover shoot, with the estimated bill topping $50,000.
The final product of the shoot was revealed in 2019, when model Camille Kostek shared the cover to Instagram.
But the size of SA’s expensive promo may have left a little to be desired.
At the time, SA Tourism said it was “thrilled” to have secured the cover and received a complimentary full-page advertisement in the magazine in return, valued at $421,100 USD.
You need to add Kangaroo Island, to your travel bucket list! https://t.co/BHfuQCEBnq
— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) May 9, 2019
Lance Armstrong - 2009 (Rann Labor government)
A secrecy agreement kept the true cost of bringing cyclist Lance Armstrong to the Tour Down Under in 2009 under wraps for a decade - but, in 2019, it was revealed the Rann government splurged $1.5m on the disgraced drug cheat.
Armstrong was paid $US1 million to make the TDU his comeback ride after announcing his retirement in 2005.
He was brought back to SA again in 2010 and 2011 - bringing the total sum of his appearances to more than $5 million.
As part of the deal, Armstrong was also entitled to two first-class return airfares, hotel accommodation and reimbursement for any other reasonable travel, food and other incidental expenses.
In 2013, the US cyclist confessed he was the ringleader of one of the most sophisticated drug programs in sport and had doped to win all seven of his Tour de France titles.
But with no behavioural or drug cheat clause in his contract, Armstrong was never required to repay the millions of dollars he pocketed from SA taxpayers.
Old Mate – 2019 (Marshall Liberal government)
It’s hard to forget “Don’t feel sorry for Old Mate”, another tourism pitch handled under the Liberal government in 2019 – although some viewers might want to.
The sobbing elderly gentleman who left his SA trip a little too late divided taxpayers, particularly when it was revealed a third, unused instalment of the campaign had been secretly filmed.
The advertisement featured an elderly man looking increasingly forlorn as he made his way through Adelaide’s tourism hot spots, ending with a teary-eyed close-up atop the Adelaide Oval roof climb.
The tongue-in-cheek ad, produced by a Melbourne agency, was deemed “confusing” and “grim” – with some advocates even labelling it ageist.
The scrapped third advertisement featured Adelaide Crows favourite Rory Sloane sharing a Coca-Cola with ‘Old Mate’ at Henley Beach, but never saw the light of day.
At the time, Treasurer Rob Lucas said SATC “got it wrong” by filming the final ad.
With $15,000 in taxpayers’ money dumped down the drain, there could have been plenty for South Australians to feel sorry about.
Nicholas Tse – 2019 (Marshall Liberal government)
Young Chinese travellers were the target of a joint campaign between SA Tourism and Tourism Australia in 2019, enlisting Hong Kong celebrity Nicholas Tse to spruik our great state.
An actor, singer and celebrity chef, Tse filmed a music video and episode of his online food series Walk With Chef while visiting SA.
The campaign videos were shared with Tse’s more than 11 million social media followers and aired on Chinese and Hong Kong television stations and at karaoke outlets.
While tourism authorities did not reveal how much was spent to lure Tse to SA, the Covid pandemic may have tempered the advertisement’s impact – with Australia’s international border firmly closed months after it went to air.
TikTokers spruiking South Australia – 2022 (Malinauskas Labor government)
They might not be household names for older South Australians, but SATC splashed the cash on the next generation of social media stars in a bid to push the state’s reimagined 10-pound Pom’ program.
Max Balegde and Monty Keates, who have a whopping 2.8m followers between them on TikTok, posted a series of videos down under to promote the deal.
Balegde shared videos of himself on an outback tour, tasting kangaroo, hitting up bars in the Adelaide CBD and discussing SA’s “posh” accents.
A separate campaign engaged a number of interstate influencers with The Bachelorette’s Brooke Blurton and Married At First Sight’s Martha Kalifatidis sharing their SA highlights on paid promo tours.
While SATC declined to reveal how much was spent on the influencer deals, a spokesperson was confident their social media stars had the much-desired “significant reach and a target demographic” of 18 to 35-year-olds.
‘Cash for comment’ – 2012 (Weatherill Labor government)
Need “2 book” a weekend away? Look no further than the Weatherill Labor government’s ‘cash for comment’ pitch to Australia’s C-grade celebrities.
In 2012, the Tourism Commission was forced to defend its marketing strategy after paying celebs up to $750 for a tweet promoting Kangaroo Island.
Australian Idol alum Shannon Noll, celebrity chef Matt Moran and former Miss Universe Jesinta Franklin (née Campbell) were given free rein to “inject their personality” into the tweets.
Unfortunately, a spelling style guide might not have gone astray.
“One night wasn‘t enough in Adelaide! I am thinking I need 2 book a weekend away. Kangaroos (sic) Island looks perfect!!,” Campbell tweeted in March 2012.
Nollsy’s contribution – which picked up a whopping one retweet and one like – was cleverly posed as a question.
“Think I need a break! I heard Kangaroo Island is awesome! Thoughts anyone?” he wrote.
Then-marketing director of SATC David O’Loughlin said there was “no ethical problem” with the thinly-veiled advertisements – which ended up making an appearance on ABC’s Media Watch.
Bollywood stars to the cricket – 2017 (Weatherill Labor government)
After notching an $80m tourism windfall from the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup between Pakistan and India at Adelaide Oval, the Tourism Commission set its sights firmly on South Asia in the following year.
As part of a $70m investment in the Indian market, SATC funded 11 episodes of popular soap opera Ye Hai Mohabbatein (This is Love), which were filmed in SA.
The show’s stars, Anita Hassanandani and Karan Patel, shared pictures of their visits to iconic SA landmarks to their impressive social media followings.
In 2016, total expenditure by Indian tourists in SA hit $28 million – not bad for a few TV episodes and a historic venue.
Cleland Wildlife Park – indefinite
In South Australia, nothing is certain – except death, taxes, cars on the O-Bahn and celebrities spotted holding a koala at Cleland Wildlife Park.
The years-old tradition of shipping big names up to the Adelaide Hills for a meet-and-greet with SA’s furry creatures transcends governments and SA Tourism heads alike.
Among the hottest celebs to visit the must-do tourism spot are Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood’s (2014), global diva Mariah Carey – in a full-length gown no less (2014), pop superstar Katy Perry (2018) and Green Day’s Tré Cool.
While it’s unclear whether SATC has foot the $33.50 koala cuddle bill for all the stars, it has certainly put SA’s unique wildlife experience on the map.
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