Augusto Group & Tourism New Zealand: Wouldn’t Aus be great if our PM had comedic flair like NZ’s

OK Australia, you may or may not have had a hand in removing New Zealand from the world map (Rhys Darby suggests the former) but New Zealand has stolen your reputation for brilliant humour.

Tourism New Zealand has put Darby and Jacinda Ardern in its ad. It’s hilarious. And it sells New Zealand. If you’re an Aussie, you’ll also note the line, New Zealand, where in the bloody hell are ya? Do not think you can out-humour NZ, Aus.

In the ad, Darby notices the absence of New Zealand in maps throughout the world and attempts to get to the bottom of the “conspiracy”. The ads come from Ikea, the BBC, Conde Nast Traveler, The Telegraph, Central Park Zoo, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and a tablecloth from John Lewis. This ad even springs from that holy grail of selling – an unexpected truth.

The ad achieved 1 million organic views in its first 24 hours and landed in major media outlets all over the world. International media outlets including BBC, the Telegraph and Conde Nast Traveler got wind of the situation, and a Reddit Maps Without NZ discussion board has a following of more than 40,000.

Tourism New Zealand chief executive, Stephen England-Hall, commented, “As a world-class destination, it’s unfathomable that New Zealand is left off world maps. New Zealand is bigger than the United Kingdom. We’re over two-thirds the size of Japan and Germany. We have a lake the size of Singapore, a mountain range larger than the European Alps, and more coastline than California.

“The campaign is a light-hearted way to raise awareness of New Zealand as a destination off the back of international media about the country missing from maps.”

Matt Sellars, Augusto creative director added, “We knew there was a great story within this odd predicament and working closely with the team at Tourism New Zealand we were able to create a campaign that got everyone talking about the missing nation that resembles a half-eaten lamb chop. We’re thrilled with the result so far, which really highlights the value of good storytelling.”

Tourism New Zealand is calling on New Zealanders to share the video and #getNZonthemap. The video campaign is being pushed to key visitor markets such as the USA, UK and Australia.

Credits:

Tourism New Zealand

GM Public Relations: Lauren Vosper
Global Brand & Content Manager: Brodie Reid
Director of Trade, PR & Major Events:Rene de Monchy

Agency & Production Company: Augusto Group
LA Director: James Anderson
NZ Director: Michelle Walshe
Creative Directors: Matt Sellars & Rich Robson
Executive Producer: Cass Avery
Business Director: Heath Davy
Account Director: Lauren Oxnam
Line Producer: Claire Campbell
Editor: Mariano Segedin
Post Co-ordinator: Zoe Jones

Designers: James Davison & Kim Anderson
Motion Artist: Shaun Madgewick

LA DOP: Grant Adams
LA Gaffer: Skott Khuu
LA Sound: Marc Stewart
NZ DOP: Olly Harris
NZ 2^nd Camera: Warren Green
NZ Gaffer: Spencer Locke-Bonney
NZ Sound: Craig O’Reilly
NZ Photographer: Graeme Murray