This hilarious video campaign from regional tourism board Visit Cowra is by far the funniest thing we’ve seen in aeons. With a quest to ‘Get Chris to Cowra’, they’ve come up with a genius idea to attract Thor to travel to country New South Wales. Honestly though, why wouldn’t the god of thunder want to visit anyway?
Faced with the age-old tourism challenge of how to attract more visitors to their region, Visit Cowra set out in a very different direction by laying down a cheeky challenge to Tourism Australia ambassador and God of Thunder legend Chris ‘Thor’ Hemsworth.
The result is #GetChrisToCowra – an Aussie Larrikin crack-up of an idea that has already gained the town a load more fans.
The tongue-in-cheek video showcases the best of the Central West NSW region in a bid to get the Hollywood superstar and his family to visit the charming, quintessential Aussie town.
The narrative begins with our tourism official (and lead protagonist) suggesting to his colleague that they get “Chris bloody Hemsworth from the Spiderman movies,” to come and show off Cowra.
“Why would Chris Hemsworth wanna come to Cowra?” says his bemused colleague in response.
The story then cleverly unfolds as we get to see many of Cowra’s charms while the one-liners come thick and fast as the concept develops.
Finally, the master plan is revealed to build a giant Chris Hemsworth statue dubbed the ‘The Big Chris’, in the hope of enticing the Aussie actor and his family to visit in person.
Watch the video in full
Aside from its comedic value, the video is brilliantly executed and manages to pull off showcasing Cowra as an interesting destination you probably didn’t expect fronted by a welcoming community that leaves a lasting impression of warmth towards the town.
My favourite lines…
“He’s seen the world. Do ya really reckon we’ve got enough culture to bring him in?” says the lady from the tourism office.
“Got enough culture? Mate we’ve got culture coming out the clacker,” says her male colleague.
We then cut to a shot of a group of locals in a pub wearing Chris Hemsworth masks, “What, this?” she says.
“Nah, thousands of years of indigenous culture” he replies before the video cuts to local Wiradjuri indigenous dancers.
It’s subtly brilliant, funny and on point. It’s also definitely not what anyone will be expecting. Which only makes you love the whole idea even more.
“We’re very excited to launch this campaign to put a spotlight on Cowra as an incredible regional holiday destination – not just for Chris Hemsworth but for all Aussies,” said Glenn Daley, Tourism Manager of Cowra Tourism Corporation.
“Cowra has a number of amazing country experiences as highlighted in the campaign – from relaxing along the extensive waterways and exploring the tranquil Japanese Gardens to the amazing boutique vineyards and superb local food and wine,” said Mr Daley.
“We wanted to do something different to showcase Cowra to the rest of Australia. Chris is such a great Aussie bloke and we wanted to get his attention with all the fantastic things the region has to offer,” he said.
The campaign encourages Aussies to sign the #GetChrisToCowra petition with plans to build a ‘The Big Chris’ inspired by the iconic The Big Banana, The Big Pineapple and The Big Prawn statues.
“We are so proud to work on this project to showcase Cowra – especially when the tourism industry has been impacted with ongoing challenges as a result of the global pandemic.
Many Australians are itching to travel and there’s never been a better time to explore our beautiful backyard and support local regions and communities like Cowra,” said Renece Brewster, Visual Domain Co-Founder and CEO.
Head to the ‘Get Chris to Cowra’ website to learn more about ‘The Big Chris’, sign the ‘Get Chris to Cowra’ petition, post your messages to Chris, and more.
The question now is, “Where the bloody hell is he?”
Visit Cowra, take a bow because your campaign and video are the heavenly work of gods.
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