‘Old mate’ from SA tourism ad to make a comeback on the big screen at AFL, NRL grand finals

He was the old man visiting South Australia for the first time in an advertisement that outraged social media. Now he’s at it again.

Last month, the South Australian Tourism Committee released an ad that ruffled quite a few feathers.

Dubbed “appalling”, “depressing”, “sad” and even “shocking” to watch, the 30-second clip was panned around the country for its unusual approach to showcasing South Australia.

The video, dubbed “Don’t feel sorry for old mate”, focused on an elderly man named “Dave” during what appears to be his first visit to Adelaide.

Throughout the promotional video, “Old Mate Dave” sheds tears of regret at not visiting Adelaide earlier in life with his loved one.

South Australian Tourism's 'Old Mate' ad received a mixed response.

The video, which was supposed to showcase various tourism highlights across Adelaide, caused uproar, with many saying the promotional clip deterred them from visiting rather than wanting to book a holiday.

But despite raising a few eyebrows, Dave is back — and he’s brought a few mates with him to win back Australians.

A 15-second teaser ad of the sequel will air in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on Thursday and Friday, followed by the full 30-second sequel of the advertisement on free-to-air TV in those cities on the AFL and NRL grand final days — the AFL on Saturday and the NRL on October 6.

In the taster clip, Dave walks in slow motion flanked by his two mates. All three are having a good laugh — which is exactly what SATC chief executive Rodney Harrex has been doing since the original advertisement was released.

But the ad, featuring ‘Old Mate Dave’, has a sequel. Picture: Matt Loxton

According to SATC, the Old Mate campaign has generated immense publicity, reaching 10.59 million Australians.

The highest two days of domestic web traffic to southaustralia.com were also recorded on the weekend of September 7-8 — just days after the ad was released.

Mr Harrex said he hoped the sequel would have the same reaction with viewers and bring more tourists to Adelaide and the state.

“When interstate people experience Adelaide, they become ambassadors for the state. Like a new band or TV show, they feel like they’re the first to discover it and so take a sense of pride in promoting it to their friends,” Mr Harrex said.

The South Australia Tourism Commission has released a 15-second taster of a sequel to the original ad.

“This is where Old Mate’s Mates leaps off. He has gone back to Sydney, told his mates about his overwhelming experience, and guess what? They’ve never been to Adelaide either.

“This sequel also provides us with the opportunity to show more of what Adelaide and South Australia has to offer, with experiences such as the d’Arenberg Cube, Sellicks Beach, Adelaide’s city laneways, urban beaches and, of course, South Australians themselves being featured.

“Old Mate really enjoys showing off Adelaide to his mates. But the lesson lives on. Now it is his mates who have the regret of not having come to Adelaide sooner, but they are consoled by seeing Old Mate revelling in his new favourite city.”