Tourism Australia ad featuring Paul Hogan, Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride plays at end of Super Bowl’s second quarter

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Australia’s tourism officials are leaning on crocodiles and Chris Hemsworth to attract visitors from the US, reheating the decades-old Crocodile Dundee franchise in a viral advertising campaign that culminated in a spot during the Super Bowl.

The buzz in the lead-up to US television advertising’s holy grail, the Super Bowl, was all about a so-called reboot of the 1980s movie franchise.

In the past fortnight, teaser trailers featuring Australians Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Isla Fisher and the US actor Danny McBride aired promoting a Crocodile Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home movie, to be released in 2018.

Australia (@Australia) The wait is over. Watch the full official DUNDEE trailer right here. It's the surprise no one saw coming (unless you've been on the Internet during the past two weeks). Visit https://t.co/kadAyLFwZh for more. #SeeAustralia #DundeeTourismAd pic.twitter.com/kxmGItY8tV

The trailers were believed to be part of a Tourism Australia campaign and the “official trailer” played at the end of the second quarter of the NFL’s showpiece revealed as much.

Including a short cameo from Paul Hogan himself, the ad featured Hemsworth and McBride – the putative Dundee – exploring pristine beaches, sampling Australian wine and eating on Sydney harbour.

The reveal mostly prompted disappointment among social media users who had been sucked in by the advertising but the idea did garner one high-profile fan.

Donald Trump Jr voiced his support for a remake, predicting it would be “the best thing to home (sic) out of Hollywood in decades”.

Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) Not gonna lie, Kenny Powers as Crocodile Dundee would be the best thing to home out of Hollywood in decades. #SuperBowlLII

In Australia the lead-up campaign received a helpful boost from News Corp papers. On Monday the NT News launched a petition – apparently directed at the actor Paul Hogan – to remake the film, and slapped it on its front page.

In Sydney, the Daily Telegraph ran a two-page spread gushing over the campaign, which it said was “threatening to make a bigger splash on the biggest day of the US sporting calendar than performances from pop megastars Pink and Justin Timberlake”.

The NT News (@TheNTNews) THAT’S NOT A MOVIE, THIS IS A MOVIE ... MAKE A NEW DUNDEE HAPPEN BY JOINING OUR CAMPAIGN ... #BringBackDundee ... SIGN HERE https://t.co/HywDGbMBsD pic.twitter.com/6jszWghYZ6

The original 1986 film grossed $328m at the box office and the fake campaign succeeded in reigniting some of that hype in the lead-up to the game.

According to the advertising tech firm Amobee, Tourism Australia’s digital mentions increased by 681% in the second half of January and it finished second only behind Budweiser for global digital engagement with Super Bowl ad-related content between 1 January and 1 February.

In Australia, 50% of Super Bowl ad-related engagement mentioned Tourism Australia and Amobee also found that there was only an 11% difference between engagement with Crocodile Dundee and Tourism Australia in the lead-up to the game, suggesting it was the speculation about its relationship with the trailers that drove much of its popularity.

Tourism Australia wasn’t the only brand to latch on to Antipodean references to promote itself.

While Hemsworth touted quality wine, the brand Yellow Tail returned with a rehashed version of its 2017 Super Bowl spot. Last year’s US-produced 30-second spot, which featured an oddly muscular kangaroo DJ-ing and leering at Ellie Gonsalves in a bikini, caused consternation and cringe among audiences in Australia.

Chris (@chrisriggins6) Chris Hemsworth: “Australia produces some of the finest wines in the world”



Chris Riggins, an intellectual: “yeah Yellowtail is $5.38 at HEB”

Michael Nagrant (@MichaelNagrant) It's only a good party if the Yellowtail Shiraz is spiked with Tide pods.

At the time News.com.au complained about the “unusually sexual” kangaroo.

The 2018 version sees a toned down return of the kangaroo, this time frightening a perturbed home-owner by appearing in his house for an impromptu party.

Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev owns the exclusive national commercial rights to the Super Bowl but Yellow Tail bought local ad space in 80 different US TV markets.