MP’s bloody good win

By Kath Gannaway
McEWEN MP and Minister for Tourism Fran Bailey won a bloody battle in the United Kingdom last week after convincing British advertising authorities that tourism advertisements promoting Australia were not offensive.
After a week of intensive negotiations, Ms Bailey announced at the weekend that the UK’s Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC)’s ban on the tagline of the ‘Where the bloody hell are you’ campaign had been lifted.
The British advertising regulator banned the campaign saying the use of the Australian adjective was inappropriate for English sensibilities.
The announcement followed meetings last week with the managing director of the BACC, Paul Denham, and the chairman of the BACC’s copy committee, Andy Barnes.
Ms Bailey had also met the British Minister for Tourism and Creative Industries, James Purnell, and the chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority, Lord Borrie.
Ms Bailey secured the review with three apparently persuasive arguments – that ‘bloody’ had been used previously in two commercials on British television, that extensive research showed that British viewers were not offended, and that no one else was offended, either.
There had been no adverse reaction in other key markets where the ads have been used, Ms Bailey said.
“I am pleased that common sense prevailed and the regulators realised the campaign was intended to be cheeky, friendly and very Australian,” Ms Bailey said.
She officially launched the campaign in the UK on 13 March, with initial feedback from being positive.
About 37,000 hits to the website www.wherethebloodyhellareyou.com after the BACC ban was put in place brought the total hits in the UK to more than 50,000.
With the media coverage the controversy has garnered, the Where the Bloody Hell Are You campaign could very well go down in history as the Lady Chatterley’s Lover of Australian tourism campaigns.