New Zealand. It has everything we could ever want. An empowered and inspiring female Prime Minister who just gets it done. Exciting cities and incredible rural landscapes. Mountain ranges that are every adventurer’s dream come true. Valley Villages that can keep you busy for weeks on end. And of course, the renowned New Zealand sense of humour, which shines through in its latest tourism ad, ‘Travelling Under The Social Influence.”
The ad, released in January by 100% Pure New Zealand, stars comedian Tom Sainsbury as a member of the Social Observation Squad, urging people to stop copying cliched Instagram travel snaps and ‘do something new’.
In the side-splitting two-minute video, Sainsbury chases down would-be Instagrammers across some of New Zealand’s most iconic landscapes and issues ‘warnings’ for the offence of ‘Travelling Under The Social Influence’.
He then proceeds to list the typical offences: Hot Tub Back Shot. Man Sits Quietly On Rock Contemplating. Hot Dog Legs. And of course the old classic, The Summit, Spread Eagle.
Sainsbury then hunts down offenders in New Zealand Lavender Fields, only to find a lone Fedora (of course), which quickly shows up on The ‘Gram as one of the most copied Insta shots ever. We”ll let you watch the ad to see for yourself:
New Zealand – Do Something New
The commercial is a part of 100% New Zealand’s “Do Something New” campaign, which has also featured local stars Madeleine Sami and Jackie Van Beek bursting into song to promote the vast, varied offerings of The Land Of The Long White Cloud.
While currently international travellers are unable to enter New Zealand, this oh-so-brilliant campaign has quickly seen many around the world add it to the top of their list, for when restrictions ease. In the meantime, it’s working to encourage Covid-safe domestic travel throughout the country, which has just three cases of the virus at time of writing.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has indicated that the New Zealand borders are likely to remain closed for much of this year, although she will look into travel arrangements with Australia and other nearby Pacific nations.
“Given the risks in the world around us and the uncertainty of the global rollout of the vaccine, we can expect our borders to be impacted for much of this year,” she said at a news conference.
Until then, we can explore our own backyards, and in the words of 100% Pure New Zealand, “When the world starts to move again, find your dream destination here.”
