Former prime minister Scott Morrison was reportedly pushed out as head of Tourism Australia in 2006 because, at least in part, he refused to disclose details on the M&C Saatchi “Where The Bloody Hell Are You?” campaign.
According to a report in The Age, Fran Bailey, a Liberal politician and the federal minister responsible for tourism at that time, says Morrison “point-blank refused” to answer questions about the $184 million campaign.
Bailey: “It came down to a complete lack of trust. It’s not something that I have stewed over for all those 16 years, but I certainly have become very concerned as he worked his way through the ministry, and I was gobsmacked when he became prime minister. Because I knew what he was really like to work with, and I think that’s been a tragedy for the Liberal Party and it has been a tragedy for our nation.”
The three finalist agencies for the tourism pitch were reported to be Saatchi & Saatchi, Clemenger BBDO and M&C Saatchi.
Industry players complained that the way the tender was written -- insisting on global assets and offices in the UK, US, Japan and China -- favoured an international agency.
Morrison has been under pressure to resign from parliament following disclosures he secretly appointed himself to an additional five ministries.
The commercial has model Lara Bingle coming out of the ocean and asking: "So where the bloody hell are you?"
Bingle (now Worthington) reprised her advertising campaign role to send a message to prime minister Scott Morrison when he left the country, without announcing it, for a family holiday while Australia faces a bushfire crisis.
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