Cast off the covid shackles because the isolated Hermit Kingdom is (almost) no more! Australia’s annual Meat and Livestock lamb ad for 2022 is the hilarious tourism campaign we needed to fire up outbound travel and warmly welcome International visitors to our nation again.
While it may not feel like it right now, 2022 will be the year of travel!
And not just because we the travel industry said so. But because now one of our national treasures and icons, the annual Meat and Livestock Australia lamb ad has essentially said so too, and on a mega mainstream scale.
If you haven’t seen this year’s lamb ad yet, entitled “The Lost Country of the Pacific” you’re in for three minutes of absolute sizzling brilliance. Put simply, It’s GOLD!
Let’s grill it…
So what makes it so positive for travel and tourism? It’s all in the pysche of the messaging.
Aside from being completely hilarious, roasting so many you know who individuals while covering plenty of black humour and absurdities from the last couple of years, the ad subtly reminds us all that, “We’ve forgotten there’s a whole world out there.”
“But also, the rest of the world has forgotten about us. We need to send a message to let the world know we’re still here.”
It gets to the very heart of our issues in an entertaining way (laughter is always the best medicine) to validate how we’ve collectively felt for so long.
The ad featuring longtime Lambassador Sam Kekovich is excellently crafted with so many sharp lines that cheekily nail the national sentiment and our post-pandemic hunger to reconnect.
From Telsa founder Elon Musk goading Amazon head honcho Jeff Bezos in space, “Last one there is only a billionaire.” to a U.S newsreader declaring, “President Biden has congratulated that fella down under for reuniting Australia with the rest of the world,” the focus is back on telling the world Australia is (soon to be) open while getting out there and exploring it again.
“Hey Ma, I told y’all Australia was real,” comes the quirky response from a U.S viewer.
“Let’s open some bubbles!” says an excited woman at the reunion BBQ. “Nah, we’ve had enough bubbles, eh,” says a Kiwi in return.
And then there’s “Good to see the Victorians finally out of the house.” Ouch. They’re even wearing Oodies.
And my favourite, “Backpackers! Thank God we don’t have to pick our fruit anymore.” exclaims a grey nomad to her husband in front of their camper trailer.
But the genius part is, of course, the underlying and perhaps unwitting positive message for travel and tourism in that we are now (mostly) free to roam the world again.
“I told you there’s a whole world out there. So, where do you think you’ll go first?” Says the heroine in the ad—itself a fantastic message for outbound travel.
“I think I’ll stay here a little longer.” says our lecturer bloke in response—in what is the perfect message for Tourism Australia and inbound travel and a nod to Holiday Here This Year.
Naver mind Meat and Livestock Australia, as I write this I’m still not convinced this wasn’t the work of Tourism Australia too? A clever pivot and new collaboration for a post-pandemic world?
Regardless, I’d say MLA just did the Australian travel and tourism industry here a massive and welcome favour.
All we need now is for International tourists to be finally able to return to our shores and of course, Western Australia to slot the final piece of the state and territory border puzzle into place so we can be truly reunited again.
Not long now.
Cheers to 2022 being the year of travel!