I still call Australia home - part 2

For those interested, I did a little research on the commercial, and received the info below from Qantas:

"In August 2004, we launched our new television commercial, I Still Call Australia Home. The sequel to the 2000 television commercial features children from The National Boys Choir and The Australian Girls Choir singing the airline's signature song, Peter Allen's 'I Still Call Australia Home', against the backdrop of some of the world's most spectacular landmarks

Filming took place in every state and territory in Australia, from Cradle Mountain in Tasmania to Jabiru in the Northern Territory. The finale, shot at Whitehaven Beach in Queensland, features 500 children in the shape of the Qantas kangaroo. Nearly half of these children came from local schools.

A number of amazing international destinations were also visited from Queenstown in New Zealand to the Temple of Poseidon in Greece, and from Shoro at the Ninnaji Temple in Kyoto, Japan to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, USA.

Facts about filming

• It took five months to film, from late October 2003 until early March 2004.
• 169,561 kilometres travelled. That's 4.25 times around the globe!
• 112,370 feet or 280 rolls of film were used
• 656 production crew from 9 countries
• 245 hours of filming took place"

I still call Australia home

I saw this commercial the other night when I went to the St. George Open Air Theater (which was brilliant -- more on that soon) and I keep thinking about it. The advertising team at Qantas definitely earned their money for this one (perhaps it was Ogilvy...).



I say that because the commercial works on so many levels. It reinforces Qantas' commitment to Australia (important right now with competition from budget carriers) though key images of Australia, Australian (including indigenous) children, the held, focused shots on traditional Australian aboriginal people, and of course, don't forget the song.

The images they select also reinforce Qantas' destination cities to the viewer, both in Australia (I saw everything from Sydney's Opera House and Harbour Bridge to the deserts and beaches) and abroad (New York, Rome, London, Paris, Athens, Singapore, Hong Kong, The Greek Islands, etc). And every time they came back to the chorus ("I still call Australia home") they cut back to their homeland, suggesting that Qantas is always there to carry you home. Brilliant.

And of course, the song is pretty catchy too. That always helps.

Kev's faux pas

Apparently I didn't read enough of the US to Australian English dictionary I included last night. As a result, I sent our Consultant* into a 20 minute fit of laughter this afternoon when I told her about how much I love Cheez Doodles.

Apparently in Australia they're called twists... because "doodle" in Australian English is slang for penis.

You can say I was a wee bit embarrassed when they told me.

*For those in the U.S. in public relations, Consultant = Assistant Account Executive

English to English dictionary

I've knew even before I arrived that the Aussies use a different dialect of English than we do in New York. Usually it's only a word here or there that differs, but this afternoon I received an e-mail with the following phrase in it:

"I'm flat chat this arvo. Can we do tomorrow morning?"

And with that, I actually had to Google an Australian to U.S. English dictionary. Thank God for the Internet.

(For those left wondering like I was, "flat chat" means "I'm crunching/crashing/moving quickly on something" and "arvo" is slang for afternoon).

A few more from this afternoon

The skies finally parted this afternoon (just as I was beginning to wonder if it was monsoon season). As a result, I was able to watch the Chinese New Year's Parade (from my balcony) and make it to Sydney's Taronga Zoo. Below are a few photos.

Many "dragons" came through the parade, but this was the largest.







I've never seen so many people out to celebrate a rat. Notice the piece of "cheese" it's following.







Downtown Sydney from the ferry to Taronga .








Koala bear with Joey. I thought the Joey was so cute, that I adopted him and named him George. I get to pick him up in a few weeks. Not sure how I'm going to get him back to the States. Somehow I don't think the customs declaration form has a spot for marsupials.




A few more Koalas. I love the one sleeping at the top of the tree.











Roos! I finally saw kangaroos, so now I actually feel like I'm in Australia.







This little wallaby was adorable. I have plenty (like 75) pictures of more animals from the zoo, such as elephants, zebras and chimps, but I won't subject you to more.






The view from Taronga of the bridge and the Opera House. As I've told you, I'm obsessed with the Opera House.

Images from the first week

Below, by not so popular demand, are just a few of the pictures I've taken of Sydney over the past few days.

I've decided I won't feel like I live here until I can walk past the Opera House without taking a picture. That may take awhile - it's one of the most majestic buildings I've ever seen.






This sculpture, made out of peaches, is a temporary art exhibit made to raise awareness of skin cancer. How do they keep the birds away? I have no idea.






Sydney Harbour Bridge. Built to be the longest, but sadly was measured to be a few feet shorter than New York's Verrazano which opened just before the Harbour Bridge.






One more of the bridge








A photo of the skyline from Darling Harbour. Isn't it, well, just darling?








I'll add more pictures as I continue to explore the city (if it ever stops raining...)

I have a lot of unlearning to do

I just finished my first week of work, and while I'm with the same company I worked for in New York, because of the different location and culture, I'm learning that a lot of things are very much the same, but a lot of things are different. The biggest learning I'm taking away from this week is that I have a lot of learning to do - or rather, unlearning.

Working in PR in New York takes a very type-A personality. There is a strong focus on urgency, the pace is fast, and client service is paramount. While there is a focus on client service here, because of the culture, the approach (both by my agency and the clients) is a lot more laid back. A few times this week the different approach has resulted on my getting stressed over people's perceived approach and follow-up, when in reality, I was coming at things with an American mindset. I know that as I settle into life here I'll adjust to the approach, but it goes against the way I've been doing business for the past seven years, so it may take some time.

And while things are different, I'm also learning things are very much the same. My first assignment here was to develop a media training for one of our clients, something I've done many times for our clients in New York. I was given some samples of what our Sydney office has done in the past, and it contained the exact same tips and techniques we teach in New York. It was nice to see how similar things can be around the world -- especially when you work for a global company.

This weekend I begin my search for an apartment. I've narrowed the map down to three neighborhoods in downtown Sydney that I think I'd like to live in. This weekend I'm going to do my own walking tour and start looking at listings online.

Saturday afternoon activities

When I finalized my transfer to Sydney, I purposely left a few days to adjust to the time difference, get settled, and yes, maybe see a few of the sights before I started work. Trying to be diligent, I left sightseeing until after I took care of all my errands (i.e., setup a bank account, get a cell phone, etc). So of course, guess when it started to rain? The moment I finished.

Lucky for me, the rain just subsided, so I ran down to the lobby of my residence, picked up a bunch of brochures and promptly booked myself on a pub tour of Sydney's Rocks area. After it ends, if the weather is still ok, I'm going to check out the evening hours at the Taronga Zoo -- after all, I haven't seen any kangaroos yet on this trip. Hey, maybe once I get situated I'll start my own combination tour and call it "Booze and roos."

Twilight at Taronga, as they call it, sounds fantastic. They set up music and keep the zoo open in the evening hours. As long as the animals aren't asleep, it should be fun.