A NSW Government department has just about done the impossible – made Sydney's post-lockout law nightlife appear much worse than it actually is in a promotional video designed to showcase the city as a 'vibrant' hot spot of entertainment.
And they did this using taxpayer money, another example of the state government getting it horribly wrong when trying to appeal to young people after the Stoner Sloth campaign at the start of this year.
The video, which has to be seen to be believed, was launched on the Transport for NSW Facebook and has received a savage backlash from Sydneysiders on social media.
Launched on the Transport for NSW Facebook, it shows former X-Factor finalist and YouTube star Jayden Rodrigues and friends on a 'wild' night out in Sydney’s Haymarket district.
The trio, who can barely disguise their excitement throughout the clip, try some 'street food' in Chinatown, hit up an empty cinema, indulge in Choc Top ice creams, play video games at a children’s arcade, watch Aladdin at the Capitol Theatre before really letting their hair down with a session of karaoke.
They even make light of the fact that most of George St is a construction site, seemingly unaware of the irony.
The “cringeworthy” video has been slammed on social media for being “pathetic”, “woeful and “lame AF”.
WORST. CAMPAIGN. EVER. #liveituplocally #keepsydneyopen
— Girl Askew (@girl_askew) December 21, 2016
This is basically it #liveituplocally pic.twitter.com/dNfCCThest
— Zachary King (@kingzac) December 20, 2016
#liveituplocally sounds like it was written by a 60 yo man who jammed in all the words he heard the kids saying down at the skate park once
— Zachary King (@kingzac) December 20, 2016
One person wrote on Facebook: “I know Transport for NSW, you must be thinking 'oh wow over 200k views, this video is gaining some great traction'... but it's seriously doing more damage than good. Take it down and pretend it never happened. And maybe try making something better next time. Whoever the creatives are behind this video, you've just made Transport NSW a laughing stock.”
A third person wrote: "Where's the cocaine and strippers? This is lame AF..."
One Facebook user tried to find a positive, asking: "Does the VR Arcade have a nightlife simulator from before the lockouts?"
In response, Keep Sydney Open posted their own campaign mocking the Transport NSW clip:
On their Facebook page Keep Sydney Open says: "The NSW government sure is spending a lot of money on advertising trying to convince Sydneysiders that everything is fine in our city. Here's a tip: If Sydney was 'as magical as ever', they wouldn't have to spend so much on convincing people it is. The people who actually live in this city would not be marching in their tens of thousands if it was as magical as ever."
The infamous Stoner Sloth campaign sparked a severe backlash earlier this year, even causing premier Mike Baird to make fun of it on social.
It's a bold (or foolhardy) move for a government that introduced the lockout laws (under O'Farrell) to think a tacky, poorly acted video that shows just how dead the city has become will be able to convince night owls and late-night revellers Sydney is somehow more vibrant and entertaining than what it previously was.
Particularly as this government has been at pains to illustrate how the laws have reduced crime (and football) in lockout law areas bar the exempt Star City, which has seen a spike in violence, footfall and been a major beneficiary of the draconian rules.
While these videos may entertain on social media, the real joke is on us, the taxpayers that foot the bill for campaigns that are counter-intuitive and nobody really wants.
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