Tourism Australia has launched a major new campaign to attract international tourists to the country that prominently features Indigenous Australian culture.
The 'Come and Say G'day' campaign stars an animated souvenir kangaroo called Ruby - voiced by Australian actress Rose Byrne - as its ambassador and features a remake of Men At Work classic 'Down Under' by King Stingray, who sing in both English and Yolŋu Matha, an indigenous language from Northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
Will Arnett, Hamish and Andy, and Australian comedian Nakkiah Lui - who is of Kamilaroi and Torres Strait Islander heritage - also feature in the campaign, which includes a short film directed by The Greatest Showman's Michael Gracey that debuted in New York this week.
Come and Say G'day builds on the AU$40 million 'Don't Go Small, Go Australia' campaign from earlier this year, which encouraged global visitors to get back Down Under following the lifting of travel restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to King Stingray's new version of 'Down Under', which was produced in collaboration with Men At Work's Colin Hay, First Nations musicians also helped create the campaign's musical score. Written by composers Jonathan Dreyfus and Amy Andersen, it features the likes of award-winning didgeridoo player and musician William Barton, central Australian singer-songwriter Frank Yamma, the Cairns-based Marliya Gondwana Indigenous Girls Choir, and the Adelaide-based Iwiri Choir.
Barton said he hopes the new campaign inspires international visitors to experience traditional music in Australia as well as the country's famed landscapes.
"Indigenous music is a stamp of our DNA and our cultural identity. There's many names for the didgeridoo, the yidaki, our traditional ceremonial instrument of Australia," he said.
"As a young child, I wanted to be part of the mystery and the feeling that the didgeridoo gave out, so to be part of that legacy is special. Working with Jonathan Dreyfus and his team on this score continues that legacy."
The full nine-minute short film is embedded below:
Tourism Australia said Indigenous cultures and peoples are at the heart of the story of Come and Say G'day.
"We're really proud to be sharing indigenous cultures and tourism experiences in this campaign," said Susan Goghill, Tourism Australia's Chief Marketing Officer.
"We know from research that our high-yielding travellers are looking for richer, more meaningful, more immersive experiences on their holidays and what beats the world's oldest living culture?"
Come and Say G'day also features Zak McDonald, a tour guide from Sailaway; Jawoyn man James Brookes, a tour guide from Nitmiluk Tours; Charmaine Kulitja, an Aboriginal artist of Aṉangu heritage from Maruku Art who speaks in Pitjantjatjara, a dialect of the Western Desert Indigenous language from the Northern Territory; and Frederick Hill, an Aboriginal tour guide at Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia of Arrernte heritage.
