Tourism Australia’s Crocodile Dundee ad featuring Chris Hemsworth has won the inaugural Most Popular Television Commercial Logie Award.
Introduced this year for the first time in the Logies’ 61-year history, the prize’s shortlist saw the UM and Droga5 created spot pitted against Aldi’s Santa Crashes Christmas and Meat and Livestock Australia’s ‘Lamb side story’.
Intended to celebrate the most creative, entertaining and best TV commercials produced for Australian audiences, the first year’s shortlist was drawn up by judging panel comprising Adam Thorn, Mumbrella Bespoke editor; Pippa Chambers, AdNews editor; James Manning, Mediaweek editor; Michael Lynch, Campaign Brief CEO and founder; David Hovenden, B&T editor and publisher; general manager of Bauer Media’s Story54, Jane Waterhouse; and Thomas Woodgate, TV Week editor.
The award was open to any television commercial aired in 2018 with advertisers, creative, media and content agencies all eligible to enter with the general public voting on the shortlist between 4th and 31st March.
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Announcing the winner, Woodgate, said: “It’s been really amazing to share this journey with creative and media agencies since we introduced the new category Most Popular Television Commercial this year. We are very pleased to congratulate Tourism Australia for their well-deserved win with Dundee: Australia’s Tourism Ad in Disguise commercial”.
Tourism Australia managing director, John O’Sullivan, added the Dundee spot had captured the imagination of both Americans and Australians: “Nobody is prouder nor cares more about how their country is marketed overseas than Australians, and that was certainly a huge consideration for us when we developed Dundee.
“With this ad we wanted to have some fun, elevate the Australian way of life and really lean in to our personality. I’ve loved seeing the smile it puts on people’s faces. To get the vote of the Australian public and be the inaugural winner of the ‘Best Ad’ category is a proud moment for Tourism Australia and a huge honour.”
The Logie prize includes $100,000 advertising across the Bauer Network.
The ad was created under the tenure of Tourism Australia’s former CMO, Lisa Ronson, who has since resigned to join supermarket giant Coles.
The remaining Logie Awards will be handed out at the ceremony on 30 June.