Is this really the way Queenslanders want their state promoted?
I realise that the Gold Coast was founded on the premise of relaxed lifestyle, beautiful people and affluent surroundings, promoted by Bernard Elsie and Sir Bruce Small’s initiative of having gold lame bikini clad lovelies popping five cent pieces into parking meters, but that stunt was restricted purely to Surfer’s Paradise. The Gold Coast isn’t Queensland, per se, and doesn’t try to be. Especially these days. Rightly so, too. Surfer’s Paradise is where the image of beautiful women wearing not a lot works best. It’s where young women wearing swimsuits on the streets is practically passe`. In fact, it’s become the standard globally when the Gold Coast is thought of.
Queensland, on the other hand, is much, much more than the glitter strip between Southport and Coolangatta. There hasn’t been a more successful tourism promotion for many moons. Frankly, and call me fogie, but I’d have thought Tourism Queensland could have done a tad better than lean on a forty year old idea which doesn’t say what Queensland really is.
Delightful little things they are, the young ladies, but wandering through the streets of southern capitals showing off their wares doesn’t particularly bring ‘holiday in Queensland’ to my mind. Come on Tourism Queensland!! Can’t you come up with something just a little less corny and a little more effective?
As an aside, and I just can’t resist this one, have a gander at this shot. What is the blonde looking at? Why is the brunette laughing? Why does the fellow in the suit appear to be a tad chagrinned? Did I mention corny?