Tourism Australia’s cheeky Superbowl ad has kicked goals for local travel industry

IT’S the Tourism Australia campaign that sparked a global frenzy for a Crocodile Dundee reboot. And it’s also proven to be gold for the travel industry. SIGN THE PETITION

TOURISM Australia’s cheeky Superbowl commercial, starring Paul Hogan and Chris Hemsworth in a mock Crocodile Dundee trailer, has kicked goals for the travel industry, new figures reveal.

Federal Tourism and Trade Minister Steven Ciobo told News Corp the extraordinary campaign had reached 890 million people on social media — with 80 per cent of that online traffic in the lucrative US market.

The Tourism Australia advert has kicked major goals for our travel industry.

Its all-star cast, which included the Thor superstar, Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe, had helped generate more than 12,000 media mentions, with an estimated advertising value of $74 million.

Mock Dundee, starring Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride, has been a huge success. Picture: Instagram

Mr Ciobo said: “feedback from the tourism industry has been incredibly positive, with initial results indicating a spike in booking inquiries since the [January] launch.”

The ad — watched by Superbowl’s estimated TV audience of 110 million, had teased fans of the Dundee film with the prospect of a reboot of the monster hit film franchise — only to be revealed as a clever tourism hook, showcasing Australia.

Immediately after its broadcast, Tourism Australia’s website experienced record traffic — logging interest from more than 10,000 US towns and cities.

Mr Ciobo said: “Australia’s stars helped this creative campaign cut through and capture America’s imagination ... delivering tangible results for (our) tourism operators.”

The Tourism Australia ad has been a global smash.

Qantas Vacations reported increased web traffic and double the number of inquiries within the first 24 hours of the ad airing.

Her said: “These results show the Dundee campaign has brought Australia to the forefront of travellers’ minds, more than 30 years after the original film helped put Australia on the map for many Americans.”

Paul Hogan has revealed he’d be interested in producing a real Dundee reboot.

The campaign is designed to grow the US market from $3.7 billion currently to $6 billion by the year 2020.

Meanwhile, the movie’s star and co-creator Hogan has revealed he’d be interested in producing a real reboot, after News Corp’s NT News launched its own #BringBackDundee campaign off the back of the Superbowl interest.

And during a business delegation to Washington last week, Seven boss Kerry Stokes urged Qantas to invest in the proposed sequel, in order to capitalise on the ad’s impact and convert interest into ticket sales.

A Qantas spokesperson said: “We’ve had a great response from Tourism Australia’s Super Bowl campaign, and while we don’t have budget to make a Hollywood blockbuster we welcome any initiative that encourages more tourism to Australia. If the new film were to be made, we would look at ways to help support it.”