western australia tourism ads

'Walking on a Dream' the slogan for WA's latest international tourism advertising campaign

By James Carmody

Topic: State and Territory Government

"Walking on a Dream" will be the catchphrase for selling tourism in WA for at least the next five years after the state launched a new $15 million global campaign.

Key points:

• The new campaign will see adverts shown in 11 countries and interstate
• WA is trying to rebuild its tourism industry after a tough two years
• Musician Luke Steele says it is an "honour" to promote his home state

The 2008 hit song Walking on a Dream by WA's Empire of the Sun has been reimagined for the campaign, which will run interstate and in 11 different countries.

West Australian-born Luke Steele, who is one half of the electro-pop duo, recorded a stripped-back cover of Walking on a Dream with his daughter Sonny and the Gondwana children's choir.

At the centre of selling WA's new "brand" are a series of video advertisements which will run on TV and online, showcasing dramatic landscapes up and down the state.

They also feature the dancing of two West Australian Aboriginal performers, Rika Hamaguchi and Ian Wilkes.

Dancer Rika Hamaguchi helped launch the campaign. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

The advertisements, which will first air on the east coast from tomorrow before being launched overseas, include a one-minute video covering multiple locations.

There are also four 30-second clips focusing on individual WA locations — the Kimberley, Ningaloo Reef, the Margaret River region and Perth.

The adverts will also run widely on outdoor billboards, online and on social media.

A WA crew shot the videos on location and the creative direction came from The Brand Agency, based in Perth.

The international markets that will be targeted include the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, USA, India, Hong Kong, Japan, and China.

The campaign was launched at a breakfast for hundreds of people under a giant blue whale skeleton inside Perth Museum Boola Bardip.

Tourism Minister Roger Cook told the crowd the campaign reflected Aboriginal culture being the "beating heart of WA's tourism strategy".

Roger Cook says the state is trying to rebuild its tourism offering after a difficult two years.  ( ABC News: James Carmody )

"Eighty per cent of international tourists come here wanting an Aboriginal cultural experience, less than 20 per cent leave having actually had that experience," he said.

"We're changing this, [with] the new tourism campaign guided through close consultation with WA's Aboriginal community leaders and the community at large."

Minister sets lofty goals

Mr Cook said tourism had never been more competitive and the Walking on a Dream campaign would keep WA in the fight.

Some of the imagery spruiking WA's Margaret River region in the new campaign.  ( Supplied: WA government )

"The past few years have been unlike anything the tourism sector and the world have ever experienced. International tourism stopped completely," he said.

"Every country, every state is trying to rebuild and refresh their tourism industry, everyone is competing for attention, it is the toughest and most competitive tourism market the world has ever seen.

"Western Australia offers tourism experiences that exist nowhere else in the world, but we can't expect people to find us by accident. We need to be bold, we need to be different, but above all we need to have a strong sense of identity."

While the government would not reveal any specific targets for visitor numbers or financial return it hoped the campaign would bring, Mr Cook did set a goal to double pre-COVID tourism business in WA by 2032.

"In the year before COVID, the total visitor spend contributed $13.5 billion dollars to our economy and provided 100,000 jobs," he said.

"We want to double that in the next decade."

The campaign will also run in WA, with the state hoping to hang on to some of the boosted intrastate travel that COVID and closed borders helped to foster.

"We want the campaign to be adopted with pride by locals, because it is a story about us, it's about the extraordinary place we are privileged to call home," Mr Cook said.

Tourism WA managing director Carolyn Turnbull said the campaign had been catered to the post-COVID era.

Carolyn Turnbull says WA's wide open spaces are a big asset in the post-COVID world.  ( ABC News: James Carmody )

"Visitors are really seeking the wide-open spaces, and extremely beautiful experiential journeys that Western Australia offers so beautifully," she said.

"I do believe that Walking on a Dream is going to elevate Western Australia to the world in a highly cluttered and competitive marketplace that the world is facing right now.

"We want to be a bucket-list destination, we want to be seen as an awe-inspiring place to visit."

Steele gets 'keys to the city'

As is standard practice, the government declined to reveal how much Luke Steele had been paid for his music.

While the singer joked that "a couple of jet skis and the keys to the city" had got him over the line, he said it was an "honour" to promote his home state.

Luke Steele, the man behind The Sleepy Jackson and Empire of the Sun, is one of WA's most famous musical exports.  ( ABC News: James Carmody )

"This is where we wrote the song, this where I met my wife, where my kids were born, I mean what a great honour for this song to represent this great state," he said.

"Re-recording a song that's sold millions of records and had an impact on people around the world took a few revisions.

"The main thing we wanted to remember was not losing what is so great about this song in the first place, which is its simplicity, beauty, and power … the original has nothing in it, there's a keyboard, a guitar."

Premier Mark McGowan said the campaign had tried to differentiate WA from interstate competitors and he was confident the videos promoted a uniquely WA holiday.

Luke Steele jokes with Premier Mark McGowan at the campaign launch.  ( ABC News: James Carmody )

"Well, it has Western Australia written on it, that's a pretty good sign that it's about Western Australia and the images are all Western Australia, and it'll direct people to our website, there's not much more you can do than that," he said.

"We are very focused on making sure that we differentiate ourselves from the experiences on the eastern states.

"These sorts of things build, and so running this campaign interstate and around the world builds awareness of Western Australia.

"And then you convert by sending people to your website, by tourism operators and travel agents promoting Western Australia, those sorts of things convert these campaigns into actual people coming here."

The Australian Hotels Association's Bradley Woods agreed the later, more specific stages of the campaign that were set to follow would be important.

"These ads form the basis of the brand, they're not the campaign to actually get people to book. That will come," he said.

"The next iteration of this campaign will be the 'travel now', 'book here', 'this is how you do it', 'here's the special', and that's the tactical campaign that will roll out.

"But the initial stage is the new branding, but the music that comes with that, the fantastic dreamlike essence that this campaign will deliver."

WA's image has a long way to go

Mr Woods said while there was no doubt  WA's image elsewhere had a long way to go in recovering from the impacts of COVID-19 and closed borders, progress was being made.

it is hoped the new international branding will draw overseas visitors back to WA. ( ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt: Laura Meachim )

"The closed borders did have an impact on the state, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"As we know regional Western Australian tourism businesses did really well with people staying within the state.

"Metropolitan Perth, hospitality, and accommodation businesses were in a very difficult period but they're starting to recover now. We're seeing more conventions and events coming to the state."

Tourism WA launches new brand campaign ‘Walking On A Dream’ via The Brand Agency

The Brand Agency has released a new campaign that promotes Western Australia to the world for Tourism WA. “Walking On A Dream” invites travellers to visit Western Australia to explore the awe-inspiring attributes that make Western Australia a wondrous, otherworldly, and dream-like place.

The Walking On A Dream brand will underpin Tourism WA’s marketing activities and campaigns into the future and was developed with the support of the WA Government’s $195 million Reconnect WA funding package. Media was handled by Initiative and the campaign is backed by WA based band Empire of the Sun’s hit “Walking on a Dream” and was directed by Clockwork Films’ Hans Emanuel Edwards.

Western Australia’s Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Roger Cook, said the ‘Walking On A Dream’ campaign has been developed in close consultation with WA’s Aboriginal tourism community.

“Walking On A Dream is inspired by WA’s unique Aboriginal culture in an artistic, authentic way, in line with the State Government’s Jina Plan objective to make WA the nation’s premier Aboriginal tourism destination. The past few years have been unlike anything the tourism sector, and the world, have ever experienced before – every country, every State is trying to rebuild and refresh their tourist industry, amid the toughest and most competitive tourism market the world has ever seen. This new campaign will ensure that WA stands out as one of the world’s most unique, memorable and most desirable places to visit, now and well into the future.”

Tourism WA Managing Director Carolyn Turnbull said the new Walking On A Dream creative would elevate the profile of Western Australia as a unique destination within a highly competitive global marketplace.

“Walking On A Dream was built upon the four destination-defining pillars of Time, Space, Connection and Freedom – themes we know are incredibly important to travellers,” said Turnbull. “Tourism WA’s new brand platform is underpinned by our overarching master brand objective, which is to provoke the spirit of adventure in every traveller.

“This brand platform explores our unique State in the form of a dream – it is a metaphor for the natural, deep connection to the landscapes, wildlife, coastline, people and culture, that is felt by those who come here. This new brand will ultimately help turbocharge visitor numbers to WA and provide a significant financial boost to the State’s economy.”

The Brand Agency Executive Creative Director Dean Hunt said: “The extreme competitiveness of the global tourism market, post global lockdown, inspired us to create something unique to Western Australia. Our Walking on a Dream creative is a modern representation of an animistic dream and a true showcase of otherworldly Western Australia, and Western Australian talent.”

Empire of the Sun’s Luke Steele, who has worked with band member Nick Littlemore to re-record their hit single ‘Walking On A Dream’ exclusively for the new brand launch. The re-recorded track features in the new television and digital advertising that will showcase Western Australia’s re-imagined international identity to entice even more travellers to visit ‘WA the Dream State’ – which has also become the State’s new social media hashtag.

“Working with Nick and Luke to create a bespoke version of their famous song was a unique and special experience,” said Hunt. “The melody, the lyrics and Luke’s ethereal voice capture perfectly what it feels like to explore Western Australia.”

Initiative Head of Client Services Steve Hare said the new brand leveraged the success of the previous interim Tourism WA campaign, Wander out Yonder.

“The new brand’s media continues to celebrate the Aboriginal-inspired creative to its maximum and live the strategy of ‘fewer, bigger, bolder.’ Using culturally impactful locations, investing in partnerships and supported by cross-platform activity and previous learnings, means the campaign and its effectiveness will have a significant impact on awareness of all Western Australia has to offer. We are proud to be part of that journey.”

The domestic launch of Tourism WA’s new brand will include television, online video, large format out-of-home, paid social, digital, press, and trade partner activity, all used at different parts of the conversion funnel.

VIEW THE WALKING ON A DREAM LAUNCH FILM VIEW THE KIMBERLEY FILM VIEW THE NINGALOO FILM VIEW THE MARGARET RIVER FILM VIEW THE PERTH BOORLOO FILM

Tourism WA Managing Director: Carolyn Turnbull A/Executive Director Marketing: Melissa Forbes Director Brand and Marketing: Angela Raso Brand and Marketing Manager: Luke Lenzarini

Agency: The Brand Agency Executive Creative Director: Dean Hunt Senior Art Director: Niall Stephen Senior Copywriter: Dan Debuf
 Head of Design: Dan Agostino Designers: Mindy Lee, Janice Law Strategy Director: Emily Colman
 Business Director: Brendon Lewis Account Director: Ruby Broun
 Senior Account Manager: Christina Tilenni Agency Producer: Rylie Bannan Production Companies: Clockwork Films & King Street Director: Hans Emanuel Edwards
 Executive Producer: Heath George (Clockwork)
 Executive Producer: Katie Trew (King Street)
 Producer/Locations: Claire Burton
 Locations Consultant: Mike Montague
 1st AD: Brad Holyoake
 Production Manager: Caeley Wesson
 Production Assistants: Rachel Hawkins & Alexandra Nell, Kate Separavich DoP: Liam Gilmore
 First AC: Austin Haigh
 2nd AC: Brianna Trinidad
 Trinity/Stedicam: Damien King
 Underwater Cinematographer: Rick Rifici
 Drone Pilot: Stefan Kraus
 Drone Camera Operator: Russel Morris
 Gaffer: Grant Wilson
 Best Boy: Alfie Rashid
 Grip: Greg McKie
 Wardrobe: Helen Fitzgerald & Marcia Ball
 H&MU: Kate Farmer and Nadia Duca Choreographer: Amrita Hepi
 Talent: Rika Hamaguchi & Ian Wilkes Stills Photographer: Mauro Palmieri, Ian Regnard Retoucher: Adam Hayes, Nicola Commons Post Production: UPP VFX Supervisor: Mario Dubec GFX animation: Tracey Kim Offline Editor: Giacomo Prestinari Music: Empire of the Sun
 Music Supervisor: Helena Czajka Sound Engineering: Universal Music Audio Post: Massive Music Media Agency: Initiative Head of Client Services, Steve Hare Associate Director: Molly Trumble Investment Executive: Emily Whyte Performance Manager: Agostina Scagliotti Addressable Manager: Julian Speller Strategy Director: Jessy Van Der Geest

75 Comments

Block Branding?

How is it possible that no one at the agency recognised this work is way to similar to the Karinyup stuff? Took me 30 seconds.

Tourism WA came home and reaped the rewards. Not a quokka cliche in sight.

I look forward to The Brand explaining this….

https://www.bestadsontv.com/ad/130139/Karrinyup-Shopping-Centre-WA-on-Stage

A Hollywood remake of an indie original. Love to hear Matso’s thoughts.

Haha what a strange pastiche. It works when you’re selling a fashion-centric shopping centre but not WA, for me.

Planning a trip to Karrinyup this weekend.

someone slap a karrinyup logo on that bad boy

I need to preclude this by saying that in all my years of working in the WA ad industry, I have never commented in this forum. But having been sent this ad yesterday by a colleague, I found myself with a lot to say about it.

Giving credit where it’s due, the campaign that Brand has created is stunning. It’s beautifully crafted, and a testament to their production team. I also know how long a campaign like this would have taken to create, so the team should be proud at what they’ve accomplished now it’s finally live. The creative and comms strategy is also great, so well done to Emily from Brand and also the Initiative Perth team for their work on this- you can see the effort that went into this. I’m sure it will do well on a global stage in achieving it’s objectives.

But let’s be honest, the concept they have devised is completely unoriginal. In fact, if you added a couple of stages and swapped out the logo for Karrinyup’s, you’d almost be mistaken in thinking that it’s the newest iteration of Block Branding’s highly successful and original ‘WA on Stage’ campaign that was released last year (albeit with a much bigger budget).

The resemblance is uncanny- both have almost the exact same concept- a male and female contemporary dancer, dancing in a dreamlike sequence through iconic and stunning WA locations to showcase the best in WA. Block obviously took this further by using this as a parallel to the best in WA being offered at Karrinyup and used the symbolism of the stages to bring to life the newly redeveloped brand platform, but you get the point. Both ads are pushing a destination brand (and yes, Karrinyup was positioned as a destination following it’s redevelopment not merely a shopping centre), the choreography is eerily similar (the touching of the hands in the opening?), the underwater sequence, the visual effects (the fruit?), the dancing through iconic WA locations….the only difference is the budget and the fact that Block created their campaign almost a year ago now.

Now if this ad had been created by Tourism WA’s East coast agency (which I admit when I first saw it on Youtube I had assumed was the case), then you could almost forgive them of this fact given Block’s Karrinyup campaign was WA-based, and those on the east coast may not have seen it. But it wasn’t. It was created by one of the powerhouse WA agencies. Karrinyup’s WA on Stage platform was one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) campaign to come out of WA in 2021, there was absolutely no way that the Brand team would not have seen it.

As I said before, I’m not taking away from the quality of the Tourism WA ad, nor is this post designed to create division as to which ad was better- they are both stunning pieces of work. But as a usual advocate of their work, I’m left simply feeling really disappointed in The Brand Agency in their decision create something so prominent that was obviously rooted in the original concept (whether intentionally or not) devised by another local Perth agency. Not something I would have expected to see.

Would love a side-by-side comparison of this and Block’s Karrinyup ad

I was about to jump onto this to leave some scathing yet witty remark about its similarity to the Karrinyup campaign. But I was clearly beaten to it. So all I’m going to say is when are we going to stop rolling out music and montage ads with the same old places? Kangaroo Island did it best. 100% New Zealand has an idea. The old Melbourne/Victoria ads actually made me want to go there, so I did for 6 years. It’s pretty safe to say this will not increase visitors in any significant way. So if we take the way Brand solved this – find a good song from a WA artist and use the lyric to create a strap line – my suggestion is from Tame Impala: Tourism WA – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards. Other suggestions are welcomed.

Was a single new thought deployed in coming up with this? You can imagine the sweaty creatives getting so deep in the navel gazing that resurrecting a single from a decade ago and introducing a flying whale shark (WTF) made sense. WA taxpayers fund yet another self-licking ice-cream. Fundamentally, you get no sense or feeling of what it means to visit WA – it is stale and lacks authenticity. The only upside for locals is that accomodation rates will not get any more expensive as this campaign will certainly not motivate a single person to visit.

Still waiting to see how WA Tourism tackles the negative rep WA has gained from 2 years with a hard boarder! What’s the actual number of people from East Coast coming to WA as a tourist? And no that doesn’t include visiting family. Isn’t it less than 0.05%?

Beautiful insight, beautiful track, beautiful craft. Love it! Everyone involved should be very proud.

I don’t believe anyone has the proprietary right to dancing, so I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. We should be celebrating a gorgeous WA campaign coming out of WA. This is a win for everyone.

P.s. where’s my credit?!

WA campaign coming out of WA? Lets examine how much of this came from out of town;

Director: Hans Emanuel Edwards
 Executive Producer: Heath George DoP: Liam Gilmore
 First AC: Austin Haigh Trinity/Stedicam: Damien King Wardrobe: Helen Fitzgerald Choreographer: Amrita Hepi Post Production: UPP VFX Supervisor: Mario Dubec GFX animation: Tracey Kim Offline Editor: Giacomo Prestinari Music Supervisor: Helena Czajka Sound Engineering: Universal Music Audio Post: Massive Music

A LOT of money going east and OS 


These comments are so Perth.

Before we get carried away. The idea that The Brand Agency team would blatantly copy another agency’s idea is quite ludicrous. Why would they do that knowing it will launch within the same market? It’s also worth noting that the Karrinyup spot, as good as it is, is not the first campaign to use a couple dancing to contemporary music and post-production: Burberry, Kenzo… there are many. It is okay to be inspired and influenced by genres, this is how trends with communication happen both locally and internationally. We’re better than this WA. Support the work being done by both of these powerhouse WA agencies. It’s good work.

I dont believe anyone is getting carried away. Im reading a lot of valid points. I agree, there’s nothing wrong with being influenced by a genre. But being influenced by something and producing a near identical execution is not the same thing. As soon as I watched the tourism ad I thought Karrinyup. Influenced or not, that’s not a good thing.

And it certainly isn’t original. Classical dancing doesn’t scream indigenous either, in fact, there’s really nothing First Nations about this piece at all. A missed opportunity to connect the unique culture of WA to the rest of the World I think. Hiring indigenous talent doesn’t cut it I’m afraid.

Speaking of significant financial boost to the State’s economy – why not use a WA-based Director & production company? Instead the money is spent flying in a Sydney director and his producers. Not to mention his work is primarily automotive…

Basically every Tourism cliche with a campaign line lifted from a music track. Trying to claim this has any link to WA’s First Nations culture is simply embarrassing.

Tough briefs boy, ignore this comments section and move on to the next brief.

The biggest shame of this campaign is that an east coast production company, and a director flown in all the way from Spain were used. With all the wonderful talent and production companies in WA, you’d think the Brand Agency and the client would understand the value in using WA talent in a job that is promoting WA. Come on Tourism WA, why not walk your talk and ensure that your suppliers are actually using WA creatives for a campaign about WA?! Not only would it contribute to WA’s creative industry and keep work in the state, it would no doubt be far more cost effective too than flying people in from all around the world. Madness!

WA jobs for WA people… remember? Apparently someone forgot… Eye watering amount of money leaving the state.

But most of those credits are WA locals…

Can someone please explain to me how whale sharks evolved to have wings? Maybe, if it stayed in the water this campaign would have made a bigger splash!

Yes it is ludicrous to suggest that the team at Brand sat down and deliberately ripped off Karrinyup. However, it’s equally ludicrous to try and mount the ‘genre’ defender when there are plainly great similarities. My guess is that someone – Minister? Client? – saw the Karrinyup spot and wanted some of that vibe in the TWA spot and inch by inch, through the production process, it got closer to it through no one’s individual fault. Just the system trying to please someone. And it moves from being influenced by Karrinyup (and the other spot you referenced) to being just a little too close to it for comfort.

Surprise surprise. The WA advertising industry bagging a WA tourism campaign. Rinse, wash, repeat. In the 25 years I’ve lived in Perth this type of attack towards a WA Tourism campaign has played out many times. Often the campaigns have been maligned on the back of being created by an eastern state agency. Now a campaign created by a Perth agency is in the firing line. Go figure. But I think we’ve missed the real gem in this release…what a credit list!

Wow! I wish I was part of this. Beautiful work. Unique, emotive and done out of WA. We all had a problem when the TWA work went east. Now they are using a WA agency and WA talent and we still find something to have a crack about. Are we ever happy?

Gosh there are some egos here to match the size of this great State. The concept of multiple discovery has been observed in arts, humanities and science for centuries. Why is it so frowned upon here? No one owns dancing as a distinctive asset.

Different target audiences and different markets means campaign results won’t be impacted by any perceived similarities in creative.

One is about a dream, one is about a performance. Hopefully for both agencies, these clients have committed to these ideas as long term platforms that will continue to grow and evolve and their strategic differences will become clear.

Where were the vfx and post done…. Czech Republic ??? Brand agency – please explain….

Man, WA’s Beef Industry is booming!

Was the post for this seriously done in the Czech Republic? Far out guys, this sums up the industry here. Agency’s bitch and moan when a client takes work east but then local agency’s are more than happy to screw over local production and post and then flaunt it right in their face. And for a tourism WA campaign mind you.

I’d like to see the brand campaign Rare came up with and produced over covid but got canned by Roger Cook. Word around production circles is it was a good campaign.

That b….. whale shark! AGAIN?

For a creature that doesn’t even ‘belong’ to WA, is potentially inaccessible to 99% of visitors (especially those that can’t swim) now has to fly?

And yes, its Karrinyup reimagined.

Experience Very Ordinary.

It’s frustrating that local prod companies are required to spend hours and hours if not days completing complex and convoluted tender documents to be added to the yearly list of Tourism WA approved production suppliers yet in the end, they don’t get used??

Honestly.. If you take out the:

– The contemporary dancing couple – The intimate hand touching moment at the beach – The scenes running through the vineyards and the sand dunes – The EXACT fruit used for the VX in the vineyards – The near identical underwater scene

… It’s actually nothing like the Karrinyup masterpiece tbh

About as original as a Balinese DVD store

I went back and checked – the Karrinyup contains no vineyards. It is clearly an orchard. I rest my case.

And there’s clearly a pomegranate in the Karrinyup spot. Grapes in the TWA spot. Plenty of ads use fruit. Completely different.

Can some please explain to me how tax payers dollars are funnelled through a production company owned by the agency. Isn’t this an inherent conflict and severely disadvantages the other independent production companies bidding on this work. Seriously, can someone please answer this?

People say it’s easy to bag out tourism WA on Campaign Brief but my god they make it easy with campaigns like this. Not only is it an almost identical campaign to Karrinyup but it doesn’t even make WA look appealing. I know that the target audience most likely will have never seen the Karrinyup campaign but seriously it’s just an excuse to use a whole bunch of crew that aren’t even from WA and spend a ridiculous amount of cash creating something that is totally unoriginal but even worse than that, doesn’t even sell WA. This could honestly be advertising anywhere in the world. The advertising industry in WA as well as the tourism industry is in a very sad way right now.

It’s a beautiful ad, with a beautiful sound track. Well done to everyone involved.

Would the general public ever think this is a copy of the Karringyup ad? Probably not.

Lets be proud of WA talent and showcasing our beautiful state 🙂

Yeah, but… “to entice even more travellers to visit ‘WA the Dream State’ – which has also become the State’s new social media hashtag.”

Are we going to ignore that Lotterywest has owned the ‘Dream State’ positioning and hashtag for the past few years?

This work isn’t anywhere near the quality of thinking behind Tasmania, and it needed to be. We bitch that the big accounts are sent East but then produce stuff like this, which just proves to the industry that WA advertising isn’t in the same league. This was an important job for all agencies in Perth.

The majority of this thread is a reflection of everything wrong with the WA marketing industry. A creative “community” plagued by ego, jealousy, sniping, insecurity and toxicity. I’d be embarrassed for colleagues interstate and overseas to see this. Time to grow up, Perth.

It’s beautiful guys, and I reckon it’ll work. Esp. love the song choice. Well done.

“This commentary is embarrassing”

Maybe keep the jobs in the state then… No reason why it couldn’t have been done here…

It’s undeniably beautiful but why would I actually holiday here?

Tough brief, it’s always an account with a lot of vested interest from blog posters! Take everything on here with a grain of salt, is there some truth to some of the comments, probably. Is it beast of a brief that you have created a visually beautiful spot for, sure is. Is it a politically charged minefield that you’ve successfully navigated, 100%. A lot went into this from some genuinely good people, if you don’t feel it hit the mark, consider how you express that, because there are real people behind this job with real emotions. Big effort team, congrats on launching something beautiful.

I know it must be hard at The Brand reading this, but there are a very good points raised here. And I’d love to learn more about this place where the marketing industry is mature and egoless and without jealousy – have you worked in any other markets?

The quality post houses we have in WA: -Siamese -Last Pixel -Double Barrel -Boogie Monster -Frame VR -Whats This? Studio  -Sandbox  -Head Office Studio  Not to mention the great freelancers like Tim Harris…

The post house Brand Agency used: -UPP, Prague, Czech Republic

We are all so lucky to be surrounded by such a wonderful and supportive industry. It’s so great that we can really get behind incredible work that really puts WA on the map, a global campaign, showcasing incredible local talent, a campaign with Aboriginal culture at its core…. But hey, a girl can dream.

Before the production or after? Selling in a piece that you know will move the needle and isn’t what the client has asked for, is painful. But it’s no where near the pain you’ll experience after you’ve made a stinker. That pain lasts a lot longer and is so much more intense.

I spent many years in tourism before joining MF & always found that dealing with the WA Tourism hierarchy was like trying to light a fire with a wet box of matches. Roger Cook said in his press conference that the Ad was about reinforcing the WA Brand & they were relying on their web site to convert interest into activity. I googled “WA Tourism” today & was directed to a site promoting AP tours to New Zealand & the east coast of Aust. Once again it won’t matter whether the ad works or not, the execution by our WA Tourism Commission will let us down.

Sure the local production industry should be supportive of using taxes to pay a Brazilian director $100k+ through a Sydney production company in a ‘joint production’ with the agency-owned ‘local’ production company with all key production talent being flown in (hell, it took a choreographer from QLD to redo the Karrinyup dance) and to post it in Europe. Yeah let’s all get behind it because a WPP agency did the creative. At least they have the good manners to be ‘influenced’ by a fully local production.

The one word to take from any tourism brief on Western Australia is UNIQUE. That direction or clue if you like is entirely missing from here. There’s a trap in letting the “yartz” take over the strategy unless of course ballet oficianados are your target audience. And if all the research tells you a major part of the UNIQUE appeal of WA is our Aboriginal and Noongah heritage why impose European/American dance forms into the communication when there is nothing more striking than a full on corroboree.

I get it, I’ve worked with WA government before and yes I know they can be an absolute nightmare of a client. I know there are real people behind this with real feelings that we need to be mindful of and of course I know it’s easy for people to just think everyone here is having a go due to jealousy or egos or whatever but if this campaign flops and the Tourism WA account and others like it are taken to an east coast agency then we all lose.

There is a fundamental issue with the industry here in Perth which must be addressed and it’s on display in this campaign. It’s not good enough anymore to just create beautiful pictures, anyone can do that. It’s not good enough to use international crew for so much of the work, it shows an incredible amount of arrogance and ignorance and I see absolutely nothing here that couldn’t have been done using local crew and artists. I know an incredible amount of work must have gone into this which makes it all the more frustrating that it’s fallen so flat. It’s unoriginal, uninspiring and ineffective. Between taking the visual style and concept from Karrinyup and pairing it with Lotterywest’s slogan of The Dream State, I really wonder what went through the creative’s heads.

These comments may be difficult to read but they are not wrong. We need a big wake up call and hopefully this is the start of turning this ship around. If we are ever going to grow and improve as an industry we need to do better.

@This commentary is embarrassing Really? I have read through all of these comments several times and I find them informative, (mostly) constructive, certainly interesting and sadly, hard to disagree with. It’s certainly not as you say “a reflection of everything wrong with the WA marketing industry”. Very valid points. Very valid discussion. Also fair enough for our production industry to question the support the WA government gives them as soon as there’s an (ego) budget involved that must require a Spanish director because no one in WA, or even Australia can handle this job. We all know the long term “Walking On A Dream” branding will last as long as Roger Cook is the minister. How long did “Wander out yonder” last?

But I finally figured out where I’d seen this case study video. Thanks to The Work. Bravo Karrinyup. Bravo all involved.

https://thework.awardsplatform.com/gallery/JkpobOKY/rbdRDQzd?search=b027e284a44820c4-43

And to whoever Sad But True is, 8 minute standing ovation from this old film guy. Bloody well put.

@ Sadbuttrue Yep, many of the comments have valid points and setting a higher benchmark is important; I’d suggest the way to go about that isn’t 56 unattributed comments in a blog feed. While there are a few balanced and reasonable points here, there are also a lot of cheap shots and unnecessary snideness. Like I said, if you don’t think it hit the mark, consider how you express that, and let’s try putting the substance we value in our work into our comments as well.

How can an agency expect a supportive response from an industry they rarely show support back to? Let’s take production in house, fly in a director and HOD’s from overseas and interstate, send VFX to Europe and audio post elsewhere but then wonder why we get an ice cold response from the local industry who’s taxes helped pay for the production? Is this really that hard to comprehend?

Dude, your compassion is commendable, but misguided. The hard working folk at The Brand Agency are the perpetrators not the victims here. We can argue over the intentionality of it, but they ‘borrowed’ the work of others without acknowledgement. Then add insult by rolling out the old genre excuse instead of owning their f-up. It is a small production and post community here and we are sick and tired of endlessly quoting and having to kua tua to your TBA-WT beast to get work only to see GOVERNMENT projects go to, not to our local competition, but to your own production company and east or overseas. Hell, during lockdown you somehow managed to convince the same government that a director from the east was so important that they should be able to cross the hard border to shoot a spot telling us the government was going to be doing lots of roadworks and that we need to be patient. Tim, you are a nice guy, but you work for an organisation whose economic influence over the local industry is not healthy. Tim, to paraphrase you, there are real people, real livelihoods being destroyed by this behaviour. Did you really think that this anger is about this one Tourism campaign? Take you TBA-WT corporate hat off and go back and read the ‘snarky’ comments again from the point of view of someone trying to keep a production company they have built and love from going under. From someone trying to make payroll.

Have a little think about why the comments are unattributed.

Matt Eastwood recently posted a pic of him with some of Perth’s legends in the day. He attributed his interest in advertising and {possibly success} to what the Perth adverting family brought him at the time. Let’s be nice. It’s in our nature.

1. The unintentional comparisons to an earlier brand spot are unfortunate, but worthy of a chuckle at best. No vitriol necessary – especially to a couple of creatives who are just trying to get through what was undoubtedly a tough process.

2. The fact that the Karrinyup spot was entirely (and intentionally, to fulfil the promise of ‘WA on Stage’) produced by a Western Australian crew, director, post and VFX etc, and this ad (for one of our biggest taxpayer-funded government accounts) wasn’t, is not ideal.

3. Considering that the biggest reason agencies or clients give for not supporting local production is that ‘we couldn’t do it here’ and this comparison, as coincidental as it might be, demonstrates clearly that this is not the case, deserves a conversation. You really couldn’t ask for a better case study of the problem.

4. It is up to the client, especially a government client, to establish the rules of procurement when producing ads. It’s not Brand’s responsibility to ‘buy local’ as a supplier if that’s not their business plan – but it should be government policy when ‘buy local’ applies to every other part of the government supply chain. When ‘buying local’ can be interpreted as ‘use a local network agency’s internal production company to outsource to a non-WA (or non-Australian) crew’, we have a major problem with the robustness of the procurement system. Again, not really Brand’s problem.

Josh, sorry, but it IS ‘Brand’s responsibility to ‘buy local’’ when spending WA taxes. It is just a moral responsibility not necessarily a legal one. Everyone understands the intent of the ‘Buy Local’ policy is obviously to buy local wherever whenever possible. To do otherwise then would be irresponsible. That is self-evident.

Further, I doubt an agency would use a wholly-owned production company to deliberately circumvent their clients’ (ie the State Government of Western Australia’s) Buy Local procurement policy by concealing the true supplier from those running the procurement process. No agency would do that, surely.

It’s amazing how, for so many years, the Perth industry has been crying out for clients to return home to WA. I think the sentiment around these comments is nothing short of sad. We should be celebrating local work, especially a global campaign to come out of this town. Well done on a brave client having the faith in a Perth agency to provide a world class production and huge ups to the Brand for bringing it home.

Big budgets don’t make tried and tested concepts good. Karrinyup and Tourism included.

‘Dancing montage’ shouldn’t really get to the client.

The dancing people script was in the first round and was high-fived by everyone. This wasn’t forced on the agency by the client. It was sold in. People here can draw their own conclusions based on this fact.

There are a lot of unfair comments but saying you were in the room and doing it under a pseudonym is up there.

I don’t think this is an issue of the majority of the industry not supporting local work-we WANT campaigns like these to succeed because it benefits the entire local industry at the end of the day and shows the talent we have in our state.

Regardless of whether you like the spot, if this had been an entirely original and locally produced campaign I’d wager the comments above would be singing a different tune.

The issue is that the campaign was so heavily ‘influenced’ by Karrinyup (and Lotterywest it seems) that it borders of being perceived as being part of the same campaign. And it isn’t supporting local talent if half of the production and post is not being done locally-that’s the simple truth of it.

I love what we do, but if agencies want the local industry to support its work, they need to show the same support towards the WA industry by utilising the immense talent we have here and not pushing ideas into client that another local agency has achieved success with.

@Off the hook then: I’ve put my name, face and career on the line (and the television) many times in recent years to make this exact point. Between Revive WA, PADC and IN:WA, this message has been made publicly and often. So don’t worry, I know full well what is *supposed* to happen. However, from endless conversations with Government, agency and client stakeholders (which I got off my own arse to have), the answer is not going to come from agencies – particularly not network agencies. The reasons are numerous, predictable and slightly depressing. It’s much simpler, fairer and more responsible for the clients to take a proactive interest in how and where their work is being created – the same way they have a supply chain policy for every other part of their business. If agencies choose to take an active interest in a ‘Buy Local’ policy and use it to build brand differentiation and grow their business, all the better.

Great discussion about the importance of supporting local industry. Just leaving this link here for anyone who is interested enough to become members: https://www.in-wa.com.au/ . IN:WA advocates for the importance of the local, independent sector and the benefits of having a thriving and diverse market.

Why didn’t the whistleblower put their name? There might be a few examples of ‘unfairness’ here, but that’s not one Lachy. It’s an important insight from someone who’d like to keep their job. We can’t always blame the client for uninspired, familiar creative. Yes, it’s a tough brief, with multiple stakeholders, but this could have been so much better. Sure it’s beautifully crafted, but dancing, in this context, is not enough of a concept to say anything meaningful.

I saw this the other day… great work.

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New Tourism WA video

Wa launches stunning new global tourism brand walking on a dream.

WA’s new global tourism brand Walking On A Dream has launched with the release of a new video inspired by the State’s Aboriginal heritage that showcases a number of our stunning destinations, including Ningaloo Reef, the South West, Perth and the Kimberley.

Electronic band Empire of the Sun – led by WA-raised frontman Luke Steele – has re-recorded their global hit single to feature as the backing track for the $15 million campaign.

Two West Australian Indigenous performers Rika Hamaguchi and Ian Wilkes also star in the marketing material, which will hit screens in the eastern states from Wednesday.

The campaign – which will run across TV, print, digital, radio and social media – will then also be launched in 11 overseas markets as WA looks to entice travellers back to the State following more than two years shut behind a closed border during the COVID pandemic.

Tourism Minister Roger Cook said every country around the world was trying to “rebuild and refresh” their offering and pitch to travellers.

“It is the toughest and most competitive tourism market the world has ever seen,” he said.

“In the year before COVID-19 the total visitor spend contributed $13.5 billion and 100,000 jobs to the WA economy.

“This new campaign will ensure that WA stands out as one of the world’s most unique, memorable and most desirable places to visit, now and well into the future.”

Premier Mark McGowan said the campaign – which was developed by a WA’s The Brand Agency and shot on-location by a local film crew – would make WA “truly shine in a crowded global marketplace”.

“WA’s wonderful landscapes and heritage, which are unique to each region, are illustrated in the campaign and it’s expected these dreamlike experiences - which are a reality here in WA - will appeal to visitors from across the country and all around the world,” he said.

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WA Tourism showcases dreamy magic to entice visitors

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September 9, 2022 | 4 min read

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The magical, supernatural and dreamlike experiences of Western Australia have been brought to life in a global campaign by Tourism WA.

WA Tourism's dreamlike tourism campaign

The Walking On A Dream campaign showcases the state’s natural tourism attractions, following local performers Rika Hamaguchi and Ian Wilkes, on a dreamlike journey as they interact with the magical and wonderous locations.

The ad features a re-imagined version of electronic band Empire Of The Sun’s hit song Walking On A Dream.

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Brimming with magic, special effects and a dream-like storyline, the aims to promote Western Australia as a unique holiday destination within the fiercely competitive global travel marketplace.

The $15 million campaign, which includes TV, print, radio, digital and social activity, will underpin the brand’s marketing activities for the next five years. It is supported by WA Government's $195 million Reconnect WA package, which aims to boost visitor numbers, infrastructure and jobs in tourism and related sectors.

The campaign was created by Perth-based creative agency The Brand Agency with media agency Initiative and production companies Clockwork Films and King Street.

Western Australia’s minister for tourism, Roger Cook, said: "Walking On A Dream is inspired by WA's unique Aboriginal culture in an artistic, authentic way, in line with the State Government’s Jina Plan objective to make WA the nation's premier Aboriginal tourism destination.

"The past few years have been unlike anything the tourism sector, and the world, have ever experienced before. Every country, every State is trying to rebuild and refresh their tourist industry. It is the toughest and most competitive tourism market the world has ever seen. This new campaign will ensure that WA stands out as one of the world's most unique, memorable and most desirable places to visit, now and well into the future," said Cook.

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Swim with the ocean’s gentle giants, savour some of Australia’s best wines and marvel at larger-than-life landscapes in Western Australia.

Western Australia is incredibly vast and diverse; as the largest state, it covers nearly one-third of the country. From baffling rock formations and ancient Aboriginal sites to sweeping green vineyards of world-class wineries and unbelievably clear ocean waters, Western Australia is the land of endless exploration.  

Your style of travel may very well dictate where you visit in Western Australia. Those looking for adventure and wide open spaces should head north of Perth to explore the Coral Coast, Ningaloo Reef and The Kimberley. If you love a bit of indulgence, secluded beaches and fine food and wine, make sure you visit South West Western Australia for its laid-back luxury.

• Swim with whale sharks on Ningaloo Reef
• Sunbathe with kangaroos at Lucky Bay in Esperance or meet a quokka on Rottnest Island
• Sip wine and relax in Margaret River

You can fly directly into Perth from some international hubs, and there are daily flights here from most capital cities.

From Perth, you can fly to regional airports including  Broome  (the main hub for the  Kimberley ), Busselton (for Margaret River ) and Learmonth (for Ningaloo Reef ). After you arrive, hire a car to venture further afield. Western Australia is what  road trip  dreams are made of; explore the state on the  Gibb River Road  or  South West Edge road trip .

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