Here’s one that’s a great practical joke and a faux tourism marketing campaign at the same time! I mean, it’s very cheeky and borderline offensive, but it actually worked. Probably better than many official tourism board marketing campaigns!
I’m talking about CU in the NT – which has a double meaning of See You In The Northern Territory, which is located in Northern Australia (also known as the Top End), and well… something else.
It’s actually an underground tourism marketing campaign that was set up a couple of rogue marketers who wanted to promote the Northern Territory to a younger audience.
And boy, did it gain some attention!
When it first surfaced in 2016, the campaign went nuts and made national and international headlines. Needless to say, it divided opinion with some locals loving the increase in publicity of the Northern Territory to others condemning the use of one of the most offensive words in the English language in a rather suggestive way.
It’s one of those double entendres that mean different things to different people. Like ‘The Top End – Different To The Bottom End’.
Cheeky Tourism Marketing
If you’ve ever been to the Northern Territory, you’ll find that the locals don’t take themselves too seriously (they use Australian slang a lot) and the stinking hot and humid tropical lifestyle lends itself to sinking many ice cold beers and T shirts, shorts and thongs (flip flops) are considered formal wear.
The Northern Territory is located in the central and central northern regions of Australia. It covers an area of approximately 1.35 million square kilometers and has a population of around 250,000 people. The Northern Territory is known for its diverse landscape, including tropical rainforests, deserts, and rugged outback, and is a popular tourist destination for its unique natural beauty and cultural experiences. Some of the top attractions in the Northern Territory include Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kakadu National Park, the Darwin waterfront, and the Katherine Gorge.
But some of the funny events hosted there include the Henley on Todd Regatta, the Camel Cup, and the Darwin Beer Can Regatta.
One of my favourite pieces of journalism of all time is the Northern Territory News (or NT News)- which is known for it’s hilarious front page headlines that make you look twice. The NT News is a daily newspaper based in Darwin and covers local, national, and international news and is known for its lighthearted approach to news and its use of humour in its stories. The NT News is a popular source of news and entertainment for Northern Territory residents, and it covers a wide range of topics, including politics, business, sports, entertainment, and local events. I love it because it’s a newspaper that knows its not serious, and I would dearly love to attend their ‘Headline School’ if they had one!
And the CU in the NT tourism marketing campaign – one of the most cheeky slogans in the world, is just part of that pisstake culture!
But it’s also about the design of the slogan that makes it ‘stand out’. As you can tell, the further you move away from the screen, sticker , or any other piece of merchandise, the more offensive it becomes.
Such as this car sticker I spotted, in all places, Queensland:
You can buy all sorts of CU in the NT paraphernalia from the NT Unofficial website, and in shops throughout the Northern Territory, such as:
- Fishing shirts
- Hats
- Stickers
- Stubby holders (to keep your beer cool)
- Thongs (flip flops)
- Bar mats
- Wheel covers
- Spoons
- Cups / mugs
- T shirts
The Northern Territory Tourism organisation (a government body) had nothing to do with this campaign, the the NT Unofficial site also makes it clear too.
You can check out the disclaimer on the website which says NTunofficial.com and CUintheNT.com are NOT affiliated with, endorsed, associated with or sponsored by any government or official NT tourism organisations or their associated brands, companies or subsidiaries. We’re just some lovers of the top end, spreading love for our favourite territory!
I guess this proves that any publicity is good publicity!
If you want to find out more and check some more merchandise, check out
https://ntunofficial.com/
Otherwise, CU in the NT!
As someone who works in tourism, this was an interesting read
Definitely pushing boundaries!
Haha! this is some another level campaign. enjoyed reading this post 🙂
Known the boys behind the campaign for years. The most authentic and true Australians you would ever meet who did this out of pure love for the territory from a tiny garage in humpty Doo.