Uluru launches new ‘Just Wow’ brand platform via BMF

How do you describe the slack-jawed, weak-at-the-knees wonderment of a place as special as Uluru? The first time you encounter it, a million words race through your mind, but all you can mutter are two: Just…Wow.

‘JUST WOW’ is the new brand platform BMF has developed for Uluru | Ayers Rock Resort since winning the Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia business last year.

The work challenges all travellers’ perceptions of Uluru as “just a rock”, to a destination with a joyful abundance of experiences, flavours and emotions on offer.

As part of the creative process, BMF and Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia involved the local Anangu community in the creation and production of the platform. The team were fortunate enough to collaborate with the Anangu Iwiri choir which composed a bespoke piece of a cappella music for the films. The song, in Pitjantjatjara, translates as “come and see our beautiful country”.

Says David Roberts, creative director, BMF: “Just Wow says everything about Uluru, the place and its people. We hope it inspires everyone to get Uluru off the bucket list and go experience the magic for themselves.”

Says Aisling Colley, deputy head of account management, BMF: “From receiving the pitch brief to getting the work into market, it has undoubtedly been a ‘just wow’ experience. It has however, been an incredibly hard feat to emulate the feeling of Uluru in an advertising moment – how do you promote such a grandiose destination with legitimate authenticity? With ‘Just Wow’, I’m confident we have landed with a positioning that is unexpected for the destination, but also reveals the breadth of experience on offer.”

Says Ana Sofia Ayala, CMO Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia: “Our new brand platform is a beautiful evolution of our marketing approach; transforming to be incredibly bold, unique and ownable, as opposed to passive as we once were. Engaging local Anangu throughout our journey was the key to making this truly stand out from the tourism advertising norms and enabled us to intertwine local food, local talent and local stories in the work. The intent is for this new platform to actively get Uluru off the ‘bucket’ list and onto the ‘now’ list, showing travellers that there’s so much more to experience than just the rock itself. We’re actively driving a sense of urgency to encourage visitation to one of the most iconic destinations in the world.”

The new brand platform will go live in Australia across print, OOH, TVC, Social, BVOD and owned channels.

Creative Agency: BMF
Chief Creative Officer: Alex Derwin
Creative Director: David Roberts
Senior Art Director: Leila Cranswick
Chief Strategy Officer: Christina Aventi
Group Head Strategy and Planning: Lucielle Vardy
Chief Executive Officer: Stephen McArdle
General Manager: Paul Coles
Deputy Head of Account Management: Aisling Colley
Senior Account Director: Hayley Basham
Senior Account Manager: Annabelle Massera
Head of TV: Jenny Lee-Archer
Agency Producer: Mandy Payne

Production Company: Revolver
Director: Tim Green @ The Glue Society
Executive Producer: Jasmin Hellier
Producer: Cathy Rechichi
Post Production: The Editors
Editor: Laurence Van Camp
Sound Production: Rumble Studios
Music: Anangu Iwiri Choir
DOP: Tim Tregoning
Art Buyer: Basir Salleh
Photographer: Nick Bowers
Production Company: The Kitchen Creative Management
Producer: Emma Shaw and Zabrina Wong
Retouchers: Alexander Reznick and Evie Hilliar
Production Director: Karen Liddle
Integrated Producer: Simone Plaza
Digital Producer: Danielle Kartika
Designers: Melinda Cole and Gabriel Mangulabnan