Destination Wollongong’s new ‘Why Bother?’ tourism campaign surpasses 500,000 views

Destination Wollongong’s bold new “Why Bother?” destination marketing campaign has generated significant community engagement and more than 500k views across Meta and YouTube.

The campaign — created entirely with local talent, local crew, and a proudly Illawarra-made creative concept — playfully taps into Wollongong’s trademark dry humour and the modest way locals often downplay their own backyard.

Locals have praised the tongue-in-cheek tone, the comparisons to iconic global destinations, and the celebration of Wollongong’s “quietly spectacular” landscapes.

Destination Wollongong general manager Jeremy Wilshire said the campaign was inspired by an internationally-recognised tourism campaign for Oslo which resulted in a strong uplift in those wanting to visit the city: “Let’s face it – we don’t have enough budget to be boring. Our mantra is to be bold, creative and playful, so we’re happy to have a crack at things that are a little edgy, perhaps even polarising. It gets people talking. While the response has been overwhelmingly positive, we’re comfortable with some people not liking it – I’d be more offended if people accused us of being bland or vanilla.

“The campaign is grounded in research. Studies over the last few decades have routinely shown that Wollongong residents are tough markers of their own backyard. We don’t always appreciate what we have, and that is born out through our strong ‘visiting friends and relatives’ market, which is responsible for 36pc of our domestic visitation. They’re often blown away when they arrive or return. That’s the genesis of the campaign.”

Local filmmaker Sam Tolhurst from Honest Boys Productions said the brief immediately stood out as something special: “Destination Wollongong came to us with a brilliant concept based on their research that locals often carry a bit of a cynical disposition about our hometown. They’d drawn inspiration from Oslo’s tourism campaign and wanted something that captured that same wit, but with an unmistakably Wollongong and Australian flavour.

“I’m quite captivated by Australian culture and Australian people, so this felt like the perfect project for me — it’s become one of my favourites to date. There was a huge amount of trust. They let us run with the concept and build a completely local crew who really understood the tone.

“We wanted to highlight the incredible variety along the coastline and in the city, but we also had to choose places we could realistically reach within our shooting windows — from Bald Hill and the Sea Cliff Bridge through to Sharkies, North Wollongong and the CBD. Honestly, we shot so much that ended up on the cutting-room floor. We could have made this commercial anywhere in the Illawarra and it still would have held up.”

Tolhurst said the tongue-in-cheek tone was driven not just by the script, but by lead actor Lucy Heffernan’s improvised lines: “Lucy brought so much to it. The video is very dry and very tongue-in-cheek, and that contrast between her delivery and what you’re seeing on screen was always a priority.

“I’m incredibly proud to be from Wollongong, and everyone involved in the production has strong ties to the region. Being able to showcase our hometown in such a unique, innovative and playful way was an opportunity we all jumped at.”

The video stars Lucy Heffernan and Mara Jean Quinn and was produced by the team at Honest Boys Productions, with support from Teel Studios, Holly Trenaman from Screen Illawarra, and an entirely local crew.

Creative direction & production: Honest Boys Productions 
Cast: Lucy Heffernan & Mara Jean Quinn 
Supported by: Screen Illawarra, Teel Studios 
Commissioned by: Destination Wollongong 

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