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THE AUSTRALIAN TRAVEL COMPANY: AUSTRALIA TRAVEL NEWS (2006-2007 Archives)
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22 March 2006 - Bloody Hell - now its our bloody beer! Are the Canadians serious - apparently so.....!
In an astonishing add-on to last weeks UK furor over the new “Where the Bloody Hell are You” Australian Tourism advert, now the Canadians have weighed in - but NOT because of the use of the word “bloody” - but because of the line “we’ve poured you a beer!” To be more succinct - it’s because the advert shows a half empty glass of beer!
Canada’s arcane last century ‘prohibition like’ drinking laws apparently prohibit the showing of “unbranded alcohol consumption”! Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said she had been told by Canadian authorities they could not accept the line “we’ve bought you a beer” as it contravenes “some sort of quirky Canadian regulation”. She also said: "Buying a mate a beer (in Australia) is about as Australian as you can get, however the Canadian regulator has banned the shot because implied unbranded alcohol consumption (a part-empty beer glass) is unacceptable". She also said that the Canadian regulator “was not troubled by the ad's closing tagline of “Where the bloody hell are you” which they found "warm, friendly and inviting".
Ms Bailey said it was likely the opening sequence in the advert would be replaced with “different but equally warm and friendly footage - not involving references to unbranded beer - to get around the problem”.
Again, the Australian Tourism Commission has received priceless publicity this time from the Canadian authorities, best summed up by Ms Bailey’s parting comment on the issue: "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." (However she declined to say what sort of beer she would offer the Canadians...!)
The advertising campaign is due to be aired in Canada within the next month.
Our comment: We say the whole bloody affair is well worth buying the Canadians a beer (and a personality transplant..)
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