London: The British will see less Kylie and fewer quokkas, and more of Australia's ongoing bushfire disaster, with Tourism Australia pausing the digital element of its multimillion dollar advertising campaign starring the pop icon.

The ad, featuring Kylie Minogue singing Matesong penned by Eddie Perfect was filmed in Australia over eight days in September when the first fires began but well before the scale of the disaster took hold. Planning began in mid-2019.

It features cameos of cricketer Shane Warne, Olympic medallist Ian Thorpe, Tennis player Ash Barty and comedian Adam Hills, in idyllic coastal and central Australia locations, which are unaffected by the bushfires.

The juxtaposition of the picturesque scenes compared to the terrifying footage of people fleeing to beaches to escape the inferno has prompted criticism about the ad's unfortunate timing.