It’s been three decades since Michael J. “Crocodile” Dundee introduced the world to Australia.
Leading up to and during the Super Bowl Sunday, Dundee — along with fellow Aussies including Chris Hemsworth and American comedic actor Danny McBride created a bit of “fake” hype that the movie was to return.
It was instead a clever marketing campaign to highlight tourism offerings in the land down under.
Along with Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride, Russell Crowe, Ruby Rose, Isla Fisher, Liam Hemsworth, Isla Fisher, Luke Bracey and Jessica Mauboy also appeared in the tourism campaign.
When the teaser trailers started airing in January fans thought the movie was making a comeback – with what would have been the fourth in the series.
Teaser 1
Teaser 2
Teaser 3
It wasn’t long before people caught on that it was a tourism promotion – which made sense considering Hemsworth is an ambassador for the Australian tourism authority.
“Crocodile Dundee put Australia on the map for Americans, and many other international travelers,” John O’Sullivan, Tourism Australia managing director, told Travel + Leisure.
“Off the back of Paul Hogan’s ‘Come Say G’Day’ campaign, the 1986 film and Mick ‘Crocodile’ Dundee helped shape the American view of Australia and is still relevant today … It showed Americans that Australia is a stunningly beautiful country and Australians to be friendly and welcoming people.”
Maybe they’ll actually do it?
In an interview with News.com.au Hemsley said he’d entertain the idea of actually turning the advert into a full-length feature film.
‘Hearing such a positive response from a fan point of view, I would definitely be open to it,’ he said.
We’ll see how that works out. For now, kudos to Australia for a clever campaign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7ZTh9Rd0aA
