‘Don’t feel sorry for Old Mate’s mates’: SATC wraps up controversial campaign for Adelaide
The South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) has doubled down on its controversial advertising and messaging about old people and regret.
An initial ad sparked controversy and backlash for its tone, when it featured a sad old man seemingly regretting not having more fun in Adelaide in his younger years. An abrasive voice-over cut off the emotional scenes to declare: “Don’t feel sorry for old mate. It’s his own damn fault he didn’t visit Adelaide sooner”.
Soon after the backlash, a much more upbeat ad was released, featuring ‘Old Mate’ and his friends strutting through an airport on their way to the South Australian capital. It was backed by Thin Lizzy’s The Boys are Back in Town.
The third, and apparently final, instalment in the SATC’s campaign for Adelaide shows Old Mate and his mates enjoying the sights, scenes and sounds of Adelaide, but then reverts to the same message as the original ad.
