Reverse psychology riles Queenslanders

QUEENSLAND TOURISM Minister Jann Stuckey has been asked to explain why a Brisbane advertising campaign seemingly promotes Sydney.

Pedestrian.TV was given the goahead to create short film clips for the Give Me Brisbane Any Day campaign, which was developed by Tourism and Events Queensland.

The interviewees – good-looking young men and women – are asked what they love about their particular locale.

Their answers include ‘‘Manly is fun . . . I love the people’’ and ‘‘What is Newtown? A place to feel welcome’’, as well as ‘‘Bondi is life, beach bars, hipsters’’, and ‘‘Surry Hills is the epitome of Sydney style, a cultural hub, a community, a way of life’’.

Each clip ends with the Sydneysiders declaring their undying loyalty to the suburb they love and vowing never to leave. A graphic then appears encouraging people to ‘‘get out of the Sydney bubble’’, adding ‘‘give me Brisbane any day’’.

Opposition MP Jo-Ann Miller questioned why the Sunshine State was selling the Emerald City.

‘‘Shouldn’t the video, if we are talking about promoting Brisbane, talk about Shorncliffe, Sunnybank, even Springfield and Swanbank, maybe even Stafford, rather than Surry Hills?’’

Miller asked whether the films had been produced from the $A285,000 TEQ had provided to Brisbane Marketing for the campaign.

Stuckey, who had to be shown printouts of the clips, said that ‘‘from a very quick glance, it would look like we are marketing Brisbane to Surry Hills and elsewhere’’.

She was unable to say whether money had been spent on market testing the campaign she had ‘‘very much enjoyed launching’’.

Miller said it was Stuckey’s responsibility to ensure that products marketing the state didn’t inadvertently encourage visitors to go elsewhere.

‘‘It’s a blink and you’ll miss Queensland in these ads, but you’ll remember a great deal about Sydney and its attractions.

‘‘I would have thought Queensland Tourism would want to maximise exposure for Queensland, not Sydney or any other of our tourism competitors.’’

TEQ chief executive officer Leanne Coddington said the clips were part of an ongoing campaign where Sydney identities were enticed to come to Brisbane for a weekend.

‘‘We are encouraging Sydneysiders to embrace their desire for a Queensland holiday and break the winter blues with the next instalment of this campaign,’’ she said.

‘‘It is really asking Sydneysiders, are you stuck in your Sydney bubble? What do they know outside of Bondi, Surry Hills, Newtown and Manly?’’

The latest National Visitors Survey, for the year ending March 2014, revealed that Queensland’s visitor numbers were still in decline.