The North Island position doesn’t pay a dime, but volunteer manager Jill Smith says the place has “got to be the second best” and that “there’s nothing plastic fantastic or flashy about us … [w]e’re just without the deep pockets of Australia’s tourism boards.”
Aroha Island is 400 meters by 200 meters, not leaving much room to wander around, but it needs someone to keep an eye on it. New Zealand media outlets pushed the opportunity to the world, ultimately leading to 150 quality applications from places as far as the United States, India, Pakistan and Mexico. Ten Australians applied – strangely, mostly from Queensland.
Tourism Australia nailed it. The struggle between work and life is reaching fever pitch. Those with jobs are working harder than ever, thanks to layoffs and a desperate play to look like top performers in case the axe comes down again. It’s a battle, sometimes, to take control of your life. This is the theme of Tourism Australia’s new campaign, “No Leave, No Life,” which drives home the fact that Australians are pissing away their vacation time and aren’t giving themselves the time away that they need.
So, the organization modeled a photo on the U.S. Marines (hey, Sydney Morning Herald, marines and soldiers aren’t the same thing) raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. You know the original picture. Everyone remembers it. Because everyone is familiar with this iconic photo, it’s easy for one to relate to it. That’s what makes Tourism Australia‘s picture of a family “raising” an umbrella particularly brilliant.
Well, there are a few people who would disagree, as you’ll see after the jump.
U.S. Army veteran (unless he’s really a marine – SMH can’t tell the different) Russell Wade wrote to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to complain. He’s pissed because it trivializes “an iconic picture of high significance to the American people.” Yet, he isn’t driven to anger by U.S. Marine commercials that equate fighting in a war to fantasy games in which fictional creatures are the enemy and are vanquished by knights with swords in a manner that implies death with what looks like a simple “zapping.”
Before we take Tourism Australia to task for its advertising decisions, let’s not forget that the Marines have had a few problems as well … occasionally seeming culturally tone-deaf.
Okay, back to the contested photos. Both photos were staged, so it really is a posed piece derived from a posed piece. And, it’s not like this is the worst instance of borrowing from military history and tradition to entertain, amuse or sell. Hell, where was Wade when Homer Simpson “trivialized” the U.S. Navy?
For that matter, where was he when the Village People did so? It looks like this guy has a shitload of letters to write.
The Village People can model entertainment on the U.S. military. The creators of The Simpsons can take it a step further (as they’ve done several times with the navy and the army, at this point). And, let’s face it. These go a lot deeper than modeling a photograph on a classic … mind you, a practice common in the arts.
I was a soldier for a while, and I have nothing but respect for those who served honorably. I just wish there could be a better sense of reality and an antidote for self-importance.
For once, youth isn’t wasted on the young. Young adults who aren’t burdened by jobs, bills or the other trappings of adult life are realizing that they have a chance that will never arise again. They have the elbow room to go out and see the world … and they’re taking advantage of it.
Because younger travelers visit countries for an average 53 days – compared to 3 ½ for business travelers – the segment once believed to be lazy, broke and drunk is being seen differently. For Australia alone, this group is worth AU$11 billion (US$8.5 billion) this year.
Thanks to global economic developments, the definition of youth traveler has been stretched out a bit from late teens to 29 years old. Hey, people in their 30s are moving back in with their parents, so this is fair.
Australian low-cost carrier Jetstar has been fined nearly AU$150,000 (US$112,000) for the “wanton and deliberate” breach of Sydney Airport‘s curfew. From 11pm to 6am, takeoffs and landings are prohibited – except when permission is granted. So, imagine the anguish caused when Jetstar flight JQ37’s wheels went up at 11:28pm!
It gets worse.
The flight had been delayed for seven hours, keeping 70 passengers on the ground who had planned to be elsewhere long after the plane wound up taking off. Jetstar asked for an exception to the curfew … and was refused. Though rules were broken, the effect was softened by the fact that the pilot took off over the water to avoid disturbing area residents.
So, for once, an airline effectively announced a grand “Screw you!” to the rules to the passengers’ benefit. Hey, the airline may have its flaws – such as requiring overweight passengers to buy two aisle seats (figure that one out …) – but with this incident, it shows that it does care about its customers.
Could Jetstar have waited for airport officials to come around? Well, this event occurred on December 3, 2007, and those officials are just getting around to levying the fine now.
Ben Southall will spend six months swimming, blogging and soaking in the sun. Tourism Queensland picked the Brit from 16 finalists yesterday – not to mention 34,700 video entries from nearly 200 countries. The job pays A$150,000 (US$110,000) for Southall’s “efforts.”
His thoughts: “I hope I can fill the boots as much as everybody is expecting, my swimming hopefully is up to standard and I look forward to all of the new roles and the responsibilities that the task involves.”
My thoughts: Don’t hurt yourself, Ben. Nobody’s really expecting anything profound from a publicity stunt.
To secure his new gig, Southall overcame finalists from 15 countries, including students, journalists, a receptionist and an actress. Oh, and a porn star. MSNBC forgot that one.
Meanwhile, Tourism Queenland‘s already thinking ahead. This gimmick could become an annual event.