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| Image Source: Damien Kuhn (Unsplash) |
Australia Day (26 January) always causes a bit of controversy. We love our country, but we’ve also got some dark, awful moments in our history – and even in the present – that we don’t know how to deal with – in fact, often we try to hide from them. The displacement of Aboriginal lands, racism, immigration, and our treatment of asylum seekers are just some of these “hot potatoes”.
The conflict and controversy we feel about Australia day goes above politics – I think it comes down to how we try to define our identity: It is difficult to sum up all the different aspects that make up our cross-cultural society. It is further complicated when you are trying to simultaneously celebrate the good things about a community AND mourn the events and aspects where we fail (see above hot potatoes) – all in one day.
I wanted to share one marketing attempt to reconcile all of the above. If you’re not familiar with the infamous “We love our Lamb” ads in Australia, this is a great introduction! Each year for Australia Day, they produce a TV advertisement promoting lamb – suggesting it is the only option for what you should eat on your BBQ. It is definitely a great marketing scheme – the ads are even becoming part of our Australia Day traditions.
This year’s one is definitely an attempt to facilitate some collaborative bridge building in our community and, in a way, bring the hot potatoes out of the oven. My hope is that we can reach the welcoming aspirations of this video.
Watch the video below and consider what you can do to build a bridge within your community this year…maybe you could even host a BBQ 😉