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'Screw working in Staines': Australia's advertising blitz designed to lure disgruntled Britons Down Under
By BILL MOULAND - More by this author » Last updated at 10:44am on 4th February 2008
They pride themselves on being fair dinkum and always telling the deadset truth, mate.
So Australia's latest campaign to convince Britons to emigrate was never going to be subtle.
Officials from one of the country's states have launched a series of newspaper ads to entice us to its capital, Adelaide.
Aggressive: An example of one of the the straight-talking adverts featured in the campaign to lure Brits to South Australia
Under the headings Sod London House Prices, Screw Working in Staines, Stuff London Traffic and Bugger it, I'm off to Adelaide, the adverts promise a life in paradise.
They offer "fine weather, fine wine, fine houses, fine jobs, fine beaches and fine universities" to the students and skilled workers-such as plumbers and electricians they are hoping to attract to South Australia.
A campaign spokesman said: "It's a stand-off challenge for people to stick two fingers up to the UK and reach out for better business prospects, better health care, higher-quality education, warmer weather, lower house prices - overall a far superior way of life."
Appealing Adelaide: the city is launching a marketing campaign comparing British and Australian lifestyles
Adelaide claims 400 policemen are among the 6,000 workers who have left Britain for its state's sun-kissed shores over the past two years.
"They were disheartened by UK policing policies and drawn to a career with less crime and where all beat police carry guns," the spokesman said.
The campaign also unashamedly flags up the low cost of housing on the other side of the world.
A three-bedroom house with double garage and swimming pool at Aldinga Beach, just 35 minutes' drive from Adelaide, costs £111,500.
The campaign claims Adelaide is one of the world's least expensive cities, has the lowest rents, average summer temperatures of 28c and winter temperatures of 16c. Although the state is four times the size of Britain it has a population of just 1.58million.
London was shrouded in fog recently ... but you could leave all that behind, argues the Adelaide tourism board
South Australia's London-based agent general Bill Muirhead, who helped found the Saatchi advertising agency, said the campaign was deliberately aggressive.
"If we didn't have the credentials, we wouldn't go up against the UK, but we have," he said yesterday.
"Adelaide is enjoying an economic revolution and boom times lie ahead. We want people from the UK to come over and be a part of our successes."
"The advertising campaign is a serious call to all businesses, skilled professionals, students and tourists to look towards a future in a more progressive climate."
Between 1946 and 1972, more than a million Britons emigrated to Australia.
They were known as the '£10 poms' because that is what it cost them to go.
'Screw working in Staines': Australia's advertising blitz designed to lure disgruntled Britons Down Under
By BILL MOULAND - More by this author » Last updated at 10:44am on 4th February 2008
They pride themselves on being fair dinkum and always telling the deadset truth, mate.
So Australia's latest campaign to convince Britons to emigrate was never going to be subtle.
Officials from one of the country's states have launched a series of newspaper ads to entice us to its capital, Adelaide.
Aggressive: An example of one of the the straight-talking adverts featured in the campaign to lure Brits to South Australia
Under the headings Sod London House Prices, Screw Working in Staines, Stuff London Traffic and Bugger it, I'm off to Adelaide, the adverts promise a life in paradise.
They offer "fine weather, fine wine, fine houses, fine jobs, fine beaches and fine universities" to the students and skilled workers-such as plumbers and electricians they are hoping to attract to South Australia.
A campaign spokesman said: "It's a stand-off challenge for people to stick two fingers up to the UK and reach out for better business prospects, better health care, higher-quality education, warmer weather, lower house prices - overall a far superior way of life."
Appealing Adelaide: the city is launching a marketing campaign comparing British and Australian lifestyles
Adelaide claims 400 policemen are among the 6,000 workers who have left Britain for its state's sun-kissed shores over the past two years.
"They were disheartened by UK policing policies and drawn to a career with less crime and where all beat police carry guns," the spokesman said.
The campaign also unashamedly flags up the low cost of housing on the other side of the world.
A three-bedroom house with double garage and swimming pool at Aldinga Beach, just 35 minutes' drive from Adelaide, costs £111,500.
The campaign claims Adelaide is one of the world's least expensive cities, has the lowest rents, average summer temperatures of 28c and winter temperatures of 16c. Although the state is four times the size of Britain it has a population of just 1.58million.
London was shrouded in fog recently ... but you could leave all that behind, argues the Adelaide tourism board
South Australia's London-based agent general Bill Muirhead, who helped found the Saatchi advertising agency, said the campaign was deliberately aggressive.
"If we didn't have the credentials, we wouldn't go up against the UK, but we have," he said yesterday.
"Adelaide is enjoying an economic revolution and boom times lie ahead. We want people from the UK to come over and be a part of our successes."
"The advertising campaign is a serious call to all businesses, skilled professionals, students and tourists to look towards a future in a more progressive climate."
Between 1946 and 1972, more than a million Britons emigrated to Australia.
They were known as the '£10 poms' because that is what it cost them to go.
