Tourism Australia goes for tailored local creative in latest ‘G’Day’ campaign
For the first time, Tourism Australia has created bespoke ads in five key markets for its latest ‘Come and Say G’Day’ campaign, via Droga5. It marks a significant shift in strategy, with the tourism body having historically focused on simply adjusting one piece of creative for different markets.
As the second chapter of ‘Come and Say G’Day’, which first launched in 2022, the new campaign sees the return of brand mascot Ruby the Roo, alongside a suite of local and international talent, including Robert Irwin, Nigella Lawson, and Thomas Weatherall.
Tourism Australia’s brand mascot Ruby the Roo returns
Since the launch three years ago, consideration for an Australian holiday has surged 10% in key markets including China, the US, and UK, with the biggest drive being from first-time travellers. The number of international arrivals is expected to reach a record 10 million in 2026, and grow to 11.8 million by 2029, according to Tourism Research Australia.
Capitalising on this, Tourism Australia’s chief marketing officer, Susan Coghill, said focus on the five key markets — the US, UK, China, Japan, and India — was paramount: “One of the things I love about this campaign is that it’s globally consistent, but we’re telling these stories in ways that are localised.”
Each market is fronted by a different person — Robert Irwin takes the helm for the US, Nigella Lawson for the UK, Yosh Yu for China, Sara Tendulkar for India, and Abareru-kun for Japan.
Ruby the Roo stars across the various spots, alongside Kamilaroi actor Thomas Weatherall, best known for his role in Netflix’s Heartbreak High. The pair feature at the start and end of each version, with Weatherall saying “always has”, something Coghill described as an unintentional nod to a phrase associated with Australia’s First Nations peoples.
She said each person has their own appeal, tailored for the markets they will serve. For example, Robert Irwin’s recent Bonds campaign and upcoming Dancing With The Stars appearance have wildly popularised him in the US, while Sarah Tendulkar — the daughter of famous Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar — has an audience of her own as a health and wellness influencer.
“We’ve taken this different approach, because trying to find one talent to connect across all our markets is really hard to do, it’s a monumental task. It felt like the right moment for us to lean into a localised strategy while we still have one consistent overarching brand and creative strategy,” she told Mumbrella.
The overarching strategy is, of course, inviting the world to ‘Come and Say G’Day’ to Australia, and a holiday that “lasts a lifetime”. It comes from the notion that when people visit down under, it’s something they talk about forever, Coghill said.
The campaign will also launch in other markets including Germany and South Korea, featuring smaller local talent, or talent “they can identify with more than actually famous talent”, according to Coghill.
The creative was developed by Droga5, which won Tourism Australia’s creative account last year. It marks the first big global campaign from the agency.
Coghill told Mumbrella the creative launching this week is actually based off the pitch work Droga5 presented last year, “with some tweaks along the way”.
“Largely, this is what they won the business off of,” she said. “And they’re wonderful to work with, we get love and attention all the way right up to David [Droga]. They pulled resources from all around the world to create this — Droga5 Tokyo, Accenture Song China, the team in India, it’s been incredible.”
David Droga, founder of Droga5 and outgoing CEO of Accenture Song, said as an Australian living abroad, it is “both a privilege and a deep responsibility” to invite the world to his home.
He seconded Coghill’s sentiment about how Droga5’s global network came together to shape the new campaign, describing it as “even more meaningful” when he saw how many Aussies worked on this.
“A few honorary Aussies managed to slip into the assignment once they caught wind of the opportunity,” he said in a media release. “This is more than a campaign, it is a warm and timely welcome to the world.”
Tourism Australia has also introduced a new font
Tourism Australia has also “evolved its look and feel”, according to Coghill, including a new hero font that will feature across different assets.
The campaign will launch in China later this week, followed by India in late August, the US, UK, Japan, and Germany in September, and South Korea in November. The timeline has been set to align with key booking periods, with launch events and activations to take place in each market.
Coghill said there are two main principles for the tourism body’s media strategy: driving attentive reach by being in high-attention channels like connected TV in the US and OOH in Japan, for example, and layering in on as many channels as possible without diluting effectiveness.
Social channels will feature B-roll style content, including outtakes, interviews, and old family footage from Irwin and Tendulkar featuring their fathers.
Credits:
Agency: Droga5 Sydney
First Nations Consultant: YarnnUp
Production House: Exit
Music Composition: Turning Studios
Didgeridoo and Clapstick Artist: Raymond (Bud) Kelly Jr
Sound Design: MassiveMusic
Edit House: ARC
VFX & Post Production: Alt.vfx
Stills: Title Artist Management
Retouching: Cream
PR: Poem
Media: UM
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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
Abareru-kun
Accenture Song
Come and Say G'Day
David Droga
Droga5
Nigella Lawson
Robert Irwin
Sarah Tendulkar
susan coghill
Thomas Weatherall
Tourism Aus
Tourism Australia
Yosh Yu
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