sO wHeRe ThE bLoOdY hEll ArE yOu?

You would probably have seen the Australia's tourism ad, or have heard the many comments, both positive and negative about the ending line or the concept... Below is the ad broken down into their scenes and dialogues that i've gotten from a website... (oops... i forgot to take down the address... no intention to plagiarize...)

The ad begin with a punter in a remote outback pub standing at the bar and says, “We’ve poured you a beer” and turns to face the smiling female bartender.

A camel trail is silhouetted by the Australian sunset. A woman says, “And we’ve had the camels shampooed”. The traditional Aboriginal percussion and didgeridoo is playing in the background, with the camels walking down the beach, sun setting in the background.

Bare legs swish through the surf. A woman in bikini top tells us, “We’ve saved you a spot on the beach”.

A boy with white zinc sunscreen on his face dives into the pool and emerges to say, “And we’ve got the sharks out of the pool”. Surf surges up the edges of the sea-side pool, saturating the swimmers.

Kangaroos watch as sand flares up from the golf course bunker. A golfer says, “We’ve got the roos off the green”. The kangaroos hop off.

The camera zooms up to the front steps of a homestead. A jackaroo tells us, “And Bill’s on his way down to open the front gate”. Bill is driving a ute down a long red dust road.

A yellow sea plane lands in the Great Barrier Reef. A snorkeller swims towards the plane as the pilot sits on the float to tell us, “You’re taxi’s waiting”.

It’s now night time in front of Uluru (Ayers Rock). A waiter, dressed in black and white formal gear, tells us, “And dinner’s about to be served”.

In Sydney Harbour a woman stands with her friends in front of dazzling fireworks display. She says, “we turned on the lights”. Inland an Aboriginal dance troupe goes through its moves. A young woman says, “And we’ve been rehearsing for over 40,000 years”.

It’s back to the beach babe and she asks, “So where the bloody hell are you?”

Cool ad i would say... It showed many interesting side of the Australian life, with the surf, aboriginals and the great wild life... The concept had a lot of vibrancy in it and by ending it with a question, "So where the bloody hell are you?", it hooks and invokes an action to the viewer, "damn, i also wan to book the tickets now..." (at least for me...) And by choosing the beach babe to ask the question, it sure do many more wonders... Sex does sells... *wink*

Personally, i do not find the ad offending by the phrase... I feel it's like a slang that they use locally, juz like we use lah, lor and wah lau... Yes, it may sound rude to outsiders, but I believe it's a culture thing and countries and societies should learn to accept it and take it in their stride...

What happened in Canada for example, is a little shocking. The paragraph below is taken off a news report.

"Less than a week after it was first banned and then cleared for screening in the U.K., an Australian tourism ad featuring a bikini-clad girl asking prospective tourists "Where the Bloody Hell are you?" has been banned in Canada. Ironically, it wasn't the controversial question — a line described as "warm, friendly and inviting" — that got the ad banned, but its opening: "We've poured you a beer." This line was ruled unacceptable by the Canadian regulator, as it refers to an unbranded beer."

The Australian Tourism Minister, Fran Bailey, replied by thanking the Canadian authorities for the publicity... Yes, good or bad publicity is still publicity... By the ad creating a talk of the town, people are trying to view it way before the authorities passed it for viewing by searching it online... This has caused some interest and publicity for the ad and ulitmately, is good for Australia... All the more with the tourism message being carried across... The Australian Tourism Minister replied by thanking the Canadian government for providing free publicity for the ad, saying, "As far as this particular Canadian regulator is concerned, I'd love him to come out here and I'll buy him a beer and say thank-you."

On the whole, i like the ad very much... It really made me feel like getting the tickets to fly to Australia, answering to the bikini girl's call... *heehee* Alternatively, you can visit this website, http://www.wherethebloodyhellareyou.com/ to view the ad...