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Cricket-commentary driven ad encourages Indian tourists in Australia to look beyond cricket

The first campaign for Tourism Australia from Scarecrow M&C Saatchi India is called ‘Experience The Game And Beyond’. It is aimed squarely at cricket fans who may be contemplating a visit considering the ICC T20 cricket world cup for men and women is being hosted in Australia next year. 

The campaign encourages the audience to look beyond cricket to everything else Australia has on offer, rendered via the tropes of cricket commentary. The voice talents in the ad include popular commentator Harsha Bhogle, singer and anchor Shibani Dandekar and former Australian cricketer Brett Lee.

A press release from Tourism Australia said: “The core idea is to draw synergies between India’s most loved sport and signature experiences that define the legendary ‘Australian way of life’, which includes food and drink, nature and wildlife and aquatic and coastal experiences.” 

The campaign has been broken down into the stages of awareness, consideration and booking. The integrated campaign will include a digital leg incorporating search, social and display advertising. 

There are also ads that with puns and other cricket-related wordplay that have been created as part of the campaign.

An A$5 million of additional funding has been allocated to Tourism Australia to promote the ICC T20 to Indian cricket fans and to increase the destination’s appeal. India is the fastest growing inbound market for Tourism Australia with five years of double digit growth. The arrival goal of 300,000 visitors from the country for 2020 was achieved ahead of time in December 2017. 

Tourism Australia regional general manager for South and South East Asia Brent Anderson said: “Australia and India have a strong bond through their shared love for cricket. While we have been witnessing impressive growth in terms of visitors and spend from India, the upcoming T20 World Cup provides us with a massive opportunity to take this to the next level.

“We look forward to welcoming our guests from India for an unforgettable cricket experience at our iconic stadiums and also giving them a flavour of our truly distinct way of life.”

Scarecrow M&C Saatchi founder director Manish Bhatt said: “Commentary has always been an extremely popular connect between a cricket fan and the game, since the radio match telecast days. 

“There are three things common between India and Australia – cricket, cricket and cricket. So we decided to give this insight a creative twist by juxtaposing cricket commentary with Australian experiences. And what better way to do it than by garnishing this idea with three great personalities – Harsha Bhogle, Brett Lee and Shibani Dandekar.”

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