shifting signs of australianness - wordpress.com · study of the differences between signs,...

HuimianWang(Cotton)797871

1

Shifting Signs of "Australianness" as Represented

In Tourism Advertisement Campaigns between 1984 and 2013

Introduction

The tourism industry of Australia has evolved significantly over the past thirty

years as both the nation and the world at large have changed. From the

perspective of semiotics in tourism advertisements, aesthetic constructions of

"Australianness", and symbols designed to convey it, offer a valuable case

study of the differences between signs, signifiers, and the signified, and reflect

how a wide array of social, cultural and ideological dimensions and meanings

associated with Australia have changed over time. According to Heffner and

Kurani (2006, p. 2), a “sign” usually contains two components: signifier and

signified. “Signifier” could be briefly explained as a vehicle for cultural

meanings, while “signified” refers to the actual things supplied to the cultural

meanings.

This essay will use the semiotic method to examine and contrast the key

differences between two advertisements from different Australian tourism

campaigns: the Australian Tourism Commission's "Come and Say G'day"

campaign (1984-1990) hosted by Paul Hogan (video link see appendix1), and

Tourism Australia's "There's Nothing Like Australia" campaign (video link see

appendix2), launched in 2013. Several aspects of the advertisements will be

discussed below: the cast, how the cast acts and behaves, the scenarios and

environments in which the cast appears, and other themes and production

details that serve as signifiers. By comparing the two advertisements, this

essay will present the case that each is a product of Australia's place on what

can be termed the cultural cringe-cultural strut continuum; the nation's

demographic transition from a culturally and ethnically homogenous to

heterogeneous society; as well as the changing nature of the target audience.

The first advertisement, dating from 1984 and starring comedic icon and

“archetypal Aussie” Paul Hogan, was broadcast to audiences in the United

States. An avowed celebration of “Australianness”，it has an informal style and


2

casual vibe (see feature1).

(Feature 1)

The second advertisement, released in 2013, stars anonymous actors with

model good looks and sophisticated tastes, is a visual buffet of Australia’s

finest array of produce served in the some of the world’s most paradisiacal

locations (see feature2). According to Tourism Australia Website (undated),

this campaign showcases the variety and quality of Australia’s culinary

experiences to international markets.

(Feature 2)


3

Signs of Australian people

Firstly, The signifier of “Australian” has changed. In the communication field,

the sign of a group of people can be categorized in the symbolic signs, and

also, a visible sign. As Leeds-Hurwitz pointed, symbolic signs can be tersely

defined as one of the most relevant communication signs (2012). When the

first advertisement aired in 1984, the signifier of the Australian "national type",

as it had been for more than a century, was a white man, masculine in

appearance and rugged in his proclivities, with a down-to-earth attitude and

strong "larrikin streak" (see feature 3). Paul Hogan, the star of the 1984

tourism advertisement, is widely considered as the living embodiment of this

depiction of the quintessential Australian, and is supported by an exclusively

white cast.

(Feature 3)

This image of the "archetypal Aussie" is in part the result of the White Australia

Policy, an immigration policy dating from the Federation era (1901-1914)

which severely restricted non-European and non-English speaking migrants

from moving to Australia (Jupp, 2002. p. 57). The policy was officially

dismantled in the early 1970s, allowing migrants, regardless of their ethnic

background, first language or religious affiliation, to live in Australia. By the


4

mid-1980s, wave of migrants from non-European countries began to enter

Australia. Thus, by the time the 1984 advertisement aired, the traditional

image of the "archetypal Aussie" was already at odds with Australia's shifting

demographic reality, and while native-born whites still comprised a significant

majority of the population, non-Europeans had begun to weave strong threads

through the nation's cultural fabric, sparking debate on what constitutes the

"archetypal Aussie" and criticism of its exclusivity.

In 2013, the year of the release of the second tourism advertisement, the

percentage of Australian residents born in other countries had increased

dramatically to 24 percent, a significant proportion of whom hailed from

non-European countries, such as China, Vietnam and India, thereby

increasing the diversity of the nation's ethnic and cultural makeup. (Abs.gov.au,

2013). In other words, the signifiers of "Australianness" used the 1984

advertisement, as well as the concept of a "national type", had been

undermined, since Australian society had gone from comprising mostly

native-born "whites" of Anglo-Celtic stock to a multi-ethnic melting pot. This is

reflected in the cast of the 2013 advertisement, which features Asians and

other people of mixed, non-European ancestry (see feature 4).

(Feature 4)

In addition, Australian people of Indigenous and Torres Straight Islander

descent are represented in several scenes of the 2013 advertisement (see


5

feature5). For many generations, Aborigines had been relegated to the

margins of Australian society, and were considered members of a "dying race".

(Barta, 1987, pp.237-253) Their social status and cultural influence has grown

since the 1980s, and, through their efforts in artistic fields such as painting and

music, have enjoyed a greater ability in helping to define and shape the

nation's identity (David, 1994, p. 189.) , the "national type", once invariably a

white male, had become more inclusive of people from diverse racial and

cultural backgrounds, which the 2013 advertisement aims to signify in its

depiction of Australian people.

(Feature 5)

Signs of Australian lifestyle

Another striking semiotic shift is evident in the behaviors，body language and

activities of the cast for each advertisement. Behaviors can be regarded as

a ”nonverbal communication”. Observing and analyzing the behaviors as parts

of nonverbal communicate signs could be helpful in understanding social

interactions (Leeds-Hurwitz, 2012, p. 16).

For example, the 1984 advertisement features Hogan addressing the viewer

directly in a down-to-earth and friendly manner. At one point, while at the

beach, he greets a bikini-clad woman strolling casually passed him. Elsewhere

in the video, Hogan is seen propped up at a bar being served a glass of beer

by a cordial publican (see feature 6), and later, by the Sydney Harbor, with a

sign, the iconic Opera House, standing in the background, he invites the


6

viewer to come over and try one of the shrimps he is presently grilling on a

barbeque.

（Feature 6）

(Feature 7)

In contrast, the casts of the 2013 advertisement do not address the viewer, but

rather engage in several classy activities. In one scene, a man and a woman

drink glasses of red wine over a game of chess. In other shots, a waiter

prepares tables for a candle-lit dinner in the outback at sunset, and a large

gathering of people in a tropical location, dressed in their finest and holding

glasses of wine (see feature 7), stop to marvel at the strange, alien calls of

Australian birds.


7

Since the cast members do not speak throughout the advertisement, the

Australian slang and larrikin humor of the 1984 advertisement are dispensed

with, and cultural institutions, such as Australian Rules football, are replaced

with benign leisure activities that can originate in any part of the world. These

different signifiers of culture and lifestyle reflect a broader range of influences

attributable to globalization and multiculturalism, and a deliberate move away

from that which is seen as unmistakably, even brashly, Australian.

In order to analyze signifiers of "Australianness", an understanding of the

social and cultural climate in which said signifiers propagate is essential. In the

decade immediately preceding 1988, the year of celebrations surrounding the

bicentenary of European settlement in Australia, a renewed sense of

Australian nationalism emerged. (Bongiorno, F, 2015, p. 227) Other factors

that played into this include the rapturous "national triumph" of Australia

becoming the first country other than the United States to win the America's

Cup yacht race in 1983 (Financial Review, 2015), and the revitalization of

Australia's film industry, marking the first time in decades that Australian

stories were being told on the silver screen, garnering both critical acclaim and

box office success (Beeton, 2004, pp. 125-135).

Signifiers of cultural "Australianness" in the 1984 advertisement include

Hogan's use Australian English slang, such as "mate", "fair dinkum", "barbie",

"no worries" and "g'day". Also, distinctively Australian cultural inventions, such

as a match of Australian rules football (see feature 8), are interspersed to the

sound of "Waltzing Matilda", widely regarded as Australia's unofficial national

anthem (West, 2001, pp.127-141.) and the most iconic example of the bush

ballad, a traditional and nationalistic genre of Australian poetry. The entire cast,

including Hogan, is of European extraction, presenting Australia as a

homogenous nation with confidence in its identity.


8

(Feature 8)

(Feature 9)

In the 2013 advertisement, a more urban lifestyle of sophistication is depicted,

such as the scene of the Yarra River and the Crown Casino at night, as viewed

from a boat (see feature 9). It is result from the development of Melbourne’s

image, which shifted from a dull and unsophisticated Australian city into an

international metropolis at the present. As what have been discussed, the

signifiers of Australian lifestyle changed for the cultural factors which relative to

both domestic and international influences.


9

Signs of Australian national image

In the connotative level, a kangaroo (see feature 10), as the particular animal

on Australia national flag and national emblem, and the exclusive specious

which only live in Australian, is refers to more than a denotative mammal, but

could have been one of the most typical visual signs of Australian national

image. As Fahmy, Bock and Wanta remarked (2014, p. 5), ”Visual

communication often uses all three categories of signs”. It means, the visual

sign as a kangaroo, can connotatively a used as the combination of an iconic

sign, an indexical sign, and a symbolic sign simultaneously. The noteworthy

point of distinction between the two advertisements is: the more recent

provides the depictions of Australian fauna, such as kangaroos, sea lions and

Tasmanian huge crabs.

(Feature 10)

Interestingly, such animals do not appear in the 1984 tourism advertisement.

This is probably a conscious decision on the part of Paul Hogan and others

who worked on the advertisement. Serving as Australia's tourism minister at

the time of the "Come and Say G'day" campaign, John Brown stated that, prior

to the release of the advertisement starring Hogan, Australia was "seen as a

zoo ... interesting marsupials and no people." (Traveller, 2015) For this reason,

the advertisement starring Hogan purposefully eschewed the depiction of


10

Australian animals, which, up to that time, were prominently emphasized in the

history of Australian tourism advertisements. In this sense, the unique

Australian character was the main focus of attention, rather than the country's

natural environment or unique animals in the 1984 advertisement.

(Feature 11)

Furthermore, as can be seen in screenshots of the various animals shown

throughout the 2013 advertisement, it is noticeable that every shot of an

animal also includes people encountering and even touching the animal (see

feature 10, feature 11), with no signs of negative impact upon said animal or

the pristine environment in which it dwells. This sense of equality and deep

mutual respect between humans and animals gives the viewer an impression

that Australia is a very eco-friendly country, if not a land approaching

something like an idyllic arcadia where the natural dominance hierarchy has

been suspended, and species live together in harmony. It is true that Australia

has some of the world's strictest and most comprehensive law systems for the

protection of animals and the environment; also, a variety of charities and

animal welfare associations ensure that any cruelty towards animals is met

with punishment (Ross and Dovers, 2008, pp. 245-260.).

In the same denotative perspective, koalas and emus are also widely

recognized as the signifiers of "Australianness", albeit they are not appears in

Australian tourism advertisement. The use of symbolic signs in relation to


11

animals in the 2013 advertisement reveals the metaphor that not only

Australia's commitment to preserving the environment it has inherited, but also

a return to the uncomplicated tropes that defined the pre-Hogan era of tourism

in the country.

Paul Hogan: the indexical sign of Australianness targeted to American

audience

At odds with the interchangeability of animals as signifiers in the 2013 tourism

advertisement, Paul Hogan is an irreplaceable symbol, and an indexical sign,

for the marketing target audience (the Americans) of the 1980s. According to

Atkin, (2005,pp.161-188), indexical signs refers to signs where caused by the

signified, and have an indicative function to signify the referent. Hogan’s

advertisement campaign is the first tourism publicity targeted to overseas

audience, especially the Americans. As Minchin mentioned, Americans at the

time had developed a borderline obsession with Australian culture, in particular

films and musical acts, which primed them for a tourism advertisement that

would satiate their desire for more media content from "Down Under" ( 2010,

pp.1104-1111). With a friendly, innocent, wise and humble image, Paul Hogan

was undoubtedly the correct choice to signify to Americans the qualities and

characteristics that were quintessentially (see feature 12).

Also, latently, these same qualities might reminded Americans their own

self-image, and were identified as something of a throwback to an earlier time

in their own history - viewed through the rosy red lenses of nostalgia - a land of

adventurous "can do" spirit, frontier values and a stronger sense of community.

That is, from the semiotic perspective, the causal relation between Paul

Hogan's personal image and Australia was relatable yet distinct, connotative

and comprehensive.


12

(Feature 12)

(Feature 13)

Paradigmatic choices of signs face to different target audience

As for the 2013 advertisement, the soundtrack, Dewayne Everett Smith’s "It's

Like Love", is an adult contemporary baroque pop song, devoid of any lyrics or

compositional elements that are markedly Australian. The reassembling of the

soundtrack, the cast of effete urbanites, and the new slogan, ”There is nothing

like Australia”, signifies a new paradigm shift in concepts of “Australianness”:

trendy, stylish, and intellectual, which targets a global audience (see feature

13).


13

Both of the 1984 and 2013 tourism advertisements can be viewed as

examples of syntagmatic production. In terms of the 1984 advertisement, the

combination of overt “Australianness”, casual atmosphere, and a cheeky

sense of humor, serves as a successful marketing ploy for the intended target

audience, Americans. The advertisement has since become embedded in

America’s collective psyche as a definitive representation of Australia (Robert

Upe, 2014). The 2013 advertisement's depiction of upper-class living,

sanitized settings and lack of character appeases the demands of the global

market. Understandably, advertisers should come up with different marketing

strategies in catering to receivers of information.

Conclusion

The causes of the differences between signs in the two Australian tourism

advertisements can be summarized as changes in demography, cultural and

social contexts and developments, the increasing concern over humanity's

impact on the environment and protection of native animals, and the different

marketing target audiences. As a result, a denotative referent can usually have

different and developing signifiers. Additionally, the external conditions can

also be factors that counteract and change the signifiers. The role tourism

advertisements can play in reflecting, and defining, a nation's identity and

self-image is demonstrated most strikingly in the case of Australia. The

ongoing evolution and deconstruction of “Australianness” also reminds

advertisers to cognizant of design and aim of their productions, and their

cultural and social context, so that they can construct a reasonable connection

between the referents and the signifiers, and to create suitable signs to

promote their particular advertisement.


14

References

Abs.gov.au, 2013, 3412.0 Migration, Australia, 2011-12 and 2012-13, viewed

24th March2017,

<http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/3412.0Chapter12011-12%

20and%202012-13>

Atkin. A, 2005, ‘Peirce on the index and indexical reference’, Transactions of

the Charles S. Peirce Society: A Quarterly Journal in American

Philosophy, 41(1), pp.161-188.

Barta. T, 1987,‘Relations of genocide: land and lives in the colonization of

Australia’, Genocide and the modern age: Etiology and case studies of mass

death, pp.237-253.

Beeton. S, 2004,‘Rural tourism in Australia—has the gaze altered’

International journal of tourism research, Tracking rural images through film

and tourism promotion, 6(3), pp.125-135.

Bongiorno, F. 2015, The Eighties: The Decade That Transformed Australia,

Black Inc. Books, Collingwood, Vic.

David Horton ed, 1994, The encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia: Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander history, society and culture, Vol. 2, Aboriginal

Studies Press.

Fahmy. S, Bock. M & Wanta, W, 2014, Visual communication theory and

research: A mass communication perspective. Springer, Palgrave Macmillan,

New York,

Financial Review, 2015, Bond's Cup victory. viewed 25th March 2017.

<http://www.afr.com/news/the-day-alan-bond-made-australia-proud-by-winnin

g-the-americas-cup-20150605-ghhaik >


15

Heffner, R.R, Turrentine. T & Kurani, K.S, 2006, ‘A primer on automobile

semiotics’, Institute of Transportation Studies.

Jupp. J, 2002, From white Australia to Woomera: The story of Australian

immigration. Cambridge University Press.

Leeds-Hurwitz. W, 2012, Semiotics and communication: Signs, codes,

cultures. 1st ed. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

Minchin. T.J, 2010, Exploring the “American obsession” down under: teaching

civil rights history in Australia. The Journal of American History, 96(4),

pp.1104-1111.

Ross, A & Dovers, S, 2008, Making the harder yards: environmental policy

integration in Australia. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 67(3),

pp.245-260.

Tourism Australia, There's Nothing Like Australia – Campaigns, viewed 21th

March 2017,Tourism.australia.com,

<http://www.tourism.australia.com/campaigns/TNLA.aspx>.

Upe, R, 2014, Traveller, Hogan hero: why this is our best tourism ad ever.

viewed 25th March 2017,

<http://www.traveller.com.au/hogan-hero-why-this-is-our-best-tourism-ad-ever

-311eg>

West. B, 2001, Crime, Suicide, and the Anti-Hero: “Waltzing Matilda” in

Australia. The Journal of Popular Culture, 35(3), pp.127-141.

Appendix

1984 “Come and say G’day tourism campaign”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ9eLXNLnvg


16

2013 “There’s nothing like Australia tourism campaign” :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rxXrtwoPJo

Note

Every image inserted in this essay is the screenshot from the two tourism

advertisements.

shifting signs of australianness - wordpress.com · study of the differences between signs,...

Documents