Foster's Advertisement - 'I Believe'

Using your notes to help you, write about 300 to 400 words analysing the representation of Australia and Australians promoted by the advertisement.

The Foster’s beer advertisement is intended to suggest that Australia, as a nation, has ‘come of age’ and is a country sufficiently sophisticated and urbanized to be a desirable tourist destination for the most discerning of travellers. The advert commences by dispelling the myth of Australians as stereotypically unsophisticated, outback, hill-billy types who own kangaroos as pets, and wear cork-bobbing hats to ward off the outback’s unrelenting plague of flies. Within the first few seconds of the advertisement, the viewer is introduced to the fact that Australia achieved nation-hood on the shores of Gallipoli and since then, has made major contributions in conflicts across the globe. Australia’s peace-keeping efforts world-wide are similarly referred to, thus leading Australian’s to ‘wear their country’s flag with pride.’ The reference to Australia as an ‘island continent’ and ‘rock’ alludes to Australia’s rather remote geographical situation as the largest island continent bounded by almost 26000 kilometers of coastline. To this ‘island continent’ have come many migrants, dating from the initial convict settlers, to the post-war, European immigrants, who brought true diversity and cross-cultural ethnicity to Australia. More recently, immigrants from the East have made their own unique contribution to broader Australian society. The egalitarian nature of Australian, crucible-like society and the lack of rigid class distinction, are powerfully represented by the passenger sitting alongside the taxi driver, rather than in the back seat of the vehicle. The comment, ‘it’s a prawn, not a shrimp,’ deliberately sets Australia apart from America, as does to the reference to playing ‘football without a helmet.’ Conversely, Australia’s uniqueness is emphasized by the quirky comment, ‘I like beetroot on my hamburger,’ turning the traditionally American icon of the hamburger into something that is uniquely Australian. In the final analysis, ‘Australia is the best address on Earth,’ encapsulates Australia’s unique features and iconic landmarks, along with the fact that Australia no longer suffers the ‘cultural cringe’ of previous decades, but rather, has achieved ‘adulthood’ in terms of its nation status. Australia has ‘earned its spurs’ by virtue of its conduct though two world wars, and today is a desirable, first-world, tourist destination for discerning travellers, offering its own distinct brand of sun, surf, beach-culture, native fauna and iconically cold beer consumed amidst care-free, easy-going Australians.