Mumbai: As the much-awaited India-Australia Test cricket series kicks off in Perth on Friday, 22 November, Australian Test cricket captain Pat Cummins has teamed up with Tourism Australia’s beloved brand ambassador, Ruby the Kangaroo, to promote Australian tourism in India through the Come and Say G’day campaign. The campaign is set to run on TV screens across India throughout the five-match series, offering Indian cricket fans a chance to explore the world-class tourism experiences Australia has to offer.
The special campaign, titled Howzat for a Holiday?, will air during key moments of the India-Australia Test matches, which are expected to draw up to 50 million viewers from across India. Featuring Pat Cummins alongside Ruby, the kangaroo, the campaign showcases Australia as the ultimate holiday destination beyond the cricket field.
“Howzat for a Holiday?” aims to engage Indian fans with a playful invitation to experience Australia’s stunning landscapes, vibrant cities, and unique cultural offerings. The campaign will be aired through 30, 15, and 6-second video spots, complemented by out-of-home creative and digital ads that will run in India throughout the cricket series. It will also be adapted for the UK market during next year’s Women’s and Men’s Ashes series.
Tourism Australia’s Managing Director, Phillipa Harrison, emphasized the importance of India as a key market for Australian tourism, noting that the ongoing Test series presents the perfect opportunity to promote the country to a large, engaged audience.
“With a population of more than 1.4 billion people and more Indians looking to travel the potential in the Indian market is endless and we see the upcoming Test series as our chance to get on the front foot and promote our country to a captive TV audience,” Harrison said.
“The Test series will attract enormous TV audiences of up to 50 million across India and tens of millions of those are high yielding travellers who are in the market for an international holiday.”
“While we have their attention firmly on Australia for the cricket this is an unmissable chance to encourage those travellers to visit Australia and see what we have to offer as a holiday destination.”
“The aviation links between India and Australia have never been stronger, the market was one of the first to fully recover after the pandemic and, according to forecasts, the number of Indians travelling to Australia will double 2019 levels by 2028.”
“It will be a tough Test series for India on the field, but we are confident Indian travellers will still want to Come and Say G’day.”
Pat Cummins is the newest member of Tourism Australia’s Friends of Australia advocacy program.
The Howzat for a Holiday? campaign has received a creative boost from Rose Byrne, who continues to voice Ruby, the kangaroo. Tourism Australia’s Chief Marketing Officer, Susan Coghill, highlighted the versatility of Ruby, who has become the face of multiple campaigns, from the global Come and Say G’day campaign to a series promoting Australia as a destination for FIFA Women’s World Cup fans.
“Howzat for a holiday? proves the versatility of our brand ambassador Ruby the Kangaroo, who is once again voiced by the wonderful Rose Byrne. Ruby was at the centre of our global campaign when it launched two years ago and since then she has been central to all of our work including a campaign for the FIFA Women’s World Cup and now cricket,” Coghill said.
“We are so pleased to have been able to work with the Australian Test cricket captain Pat Cummins, Rose Byrne and also our new creative agency, Accenture Song, who have helped to create a uniquely Australian campaign that will resonate with audiences in India.”
“This new creative is part of a whole range of activity around the Summer of Cricket. Ahead of the Test series we launched a four-part social media content series with David Warner, we followed that with the launch of Howzat for a holiday? and we will also be hosting a group of Bollywood talent here in Australia. All of this activity will run in India throughout the series to showcase Australia as a holiday destination.”
“This is now a proven formula and it is one we will execute once again with a push into England with localised creative during the Women’s and Men’s Ashes here in Australia next year.”
The Howzat for a Holiday? campaign will continue to run throughout the Test series, which will be played in multiple cities across Australia: Perth (22-26 Nov), Adelaide (6-10 Dec), Brisbane (14-18 Dec), Melbourne (26-30 Dec), and Sydney (3-7 Jan). The campaign will then be localized for the UK market in 2025 as part of the lead-up to the Women’s Ashes in January and Men’s Ashes series later in the year.
