Australian Republic Movement ‘farewells’ King Charles III in PR campaign via Bureau of Everything
The Australian Republic Movement has engaged the Bureau of Everything for a humorous PR campaign ahead of King Charles III’s visit down under later this month.
Parodying the much anticipated ‘farewell tours’ that hold a dear place in Aussie hearts – think along the lines of Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour – the PR-led campaign encourages Australians to wave goodbye to royal reign.
Complete with tour merch, bill posters, promos and kitsch commemorative tea towels, the campaign has reignited the republic conversation in a more culturally-relevant way to connect to Aussies more meaningfully. The PR-led work is doing the rounds of mainstream media in Australia, and has also hit headlines in the UK across The Independent, BBC, Guardian, Times, Mirror, and more.
The campaign has been structured to stir conversation, with a bit of cheek of course, giving the Australian Republic Movement a platform to educate and reflect on what they describe as the “irrelevance” of having a British monarch and the Australian Head of State.
According to research by the Australian Republic Movement, 92% of Australians are either supporters of a republic or are open to it. Just 8% are monarchists. And when it comes to Royal Visits, 78% believe the Royal Family should foot the bill, rather than Australian taxpayers.
“While shows like Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour are always welcomed by Australian ticket-buyers, today’s Australian democracy is not a show: we elect our representatives on merit. It’s time to Wave Goodbye to Royal Reign on what we’re calling Monarchy: The Farewell Oz Tour!” said Esther Anatolitis, co-chair of the Movement.
“Australians all over the continent tell us they’re keen to see a warm, positive conversation about the future of the monarchy in Australia, seeing this visit as the last tour of a king and queen of Australia. It’s time for Australia to say ‘thanks, but we’ve got it from here.'”
Cam Blackley, creative partner of the Bureau of Everything, added: “The jet setting, the security, the flash hotels, paparazzi, limos and photo ops have more parallels with ageing rock stars than a working Australian Head of State.
“We felt that leaning hard into the idea of a nostalgic farewell tour is a suitably kitsch way to lower the curtain on the outdated concept of the Monarchy as our highest national representative.”
Emily Taylor, strategy founder of the agency, said an Australian Head of State is a “no-brainer”.
“That doesn’t mean we want to engage in a political debate about it though, so we threw a bunch of brilliant creative minds at finding a less expected way to grab attention and reopen the conversation,” she said.
The Movement is also inviting Aussies to sign a farewell card and leave a message at republic.org.au to show their support for a new era.
Credits:
Client: Australian Republic Movement
Creative Office: Bureau of Everything
Design Director: Michael Kleinman
Music Director: Jason Leigh
Exec Producer: Cathy Rechichi
Edit & Vision: Gary Jacques @FallingUpwards
Sound: Mosaic Music & Sound
Composer: Adam Moses
Snr Audio Engineer: Michael Thomas
Producer: Bill Doig
Campaign Partner: The Pool Collective
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Lauren McNamara was the associate editor at Mumbrella. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left Mumbrella in August 2025.
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topics
Australian republic
Australian Republic Movement
Bureau of Everything
Cam Blackley
Emily Taylor
Esther Anatolitis
King Charles
King Charles III
monarchy
PR
republic
Royal Family
Royal Visit
royals
I’m sure that everyone involved in this campaign had fun, but it’s preaching to those who are embarrassed by the idea of the monarchy and don’t care about the details of any future republic. Which is what voters actually care about.
Unless the republican campaign can address the reasons the 1999 referendum failed in every single state, it’s going to go nowhere.
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You’ve got to start somewhere. It say’s it’s kicking off the conversation again…
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And who pays for the Elton John type tours – the Aussie taxpayer….albeit by choice, I give you that – but Elton didn’t come here for free.
Maybe someone will suggest a viable alternative & address the old issues (as mentioned by Fun, but), this seems something the public don’t actually mind – 45% in favour of monarchy vs 33% against in latest poll this week
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Heard the representative yesterday.
Whether monarchist or republican she was totally disrespectful thinking it a joke
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