Amid the annual flurry of one-off April Fools productions, the work of Spark PR & Activate on behalf of Gold Coast Tourism fooled nobody – but it sure raised a smile or two.
The prank was conveyed to a totally unfoolish public via a mini-series of filmed warnings about the fictional Gold Coast Weather Protection Unit:
- Trailer: https://goo.gl/eJJ0RV
- Episode 1: https://goo.gl/1G3j7i
- Episode 2: https://goo.gl/imhLhu
- Episode 3: https://goo.gl/P51hyF
- Episode 4: https://goo.gl/SIJjd3
The series follows the GCWPU as it takes the safety of Gold Coast’s weather to heart, whether that’s by tackling passengers attempting to smuggle contraband encased in fruit or by keeping a watchful eye out for those wearing extra layers on the beach.
Filmed over the course of three days in the Gold Coast Airport and surrounding area; a number of unsuspecting airport passengers were – at the time – unknowingly involved in the prank.
“Gold Coast Tourism tasked us with getting more people to think about and choose the Gold Coast for their next winter holiday,” says Spark PR & Activate head of content Mike Harland.
“We challenged ourselves to find a way to get Kiwis thinking about the contrast in weather conditions between the Gold Coast and New Zealand as the season starts to change. We didn’t want to revert to the old temperature linked media or images of beautiful beaches as this is the territory of destinations like the Pacific Islands.
“We needed something completely different.
“Our creative idea was based around the insight that Kiwis believe they take the weather with them when they travel. Before you go on holiday you always check the mobile weather or MetService reports, undoubtedly noticing how beautiful it is now but instinctively knowing that when you get there, the weather’s not going to be that great.
“We saw there being some truth in this for Kiwis because they do tend to take the bad weather with them when they travel.”
CREDITS
Client: Gold Coast Tourism
Creative agency: Spark PR & Activate
Creative team: Mike Harland & Gemma Parry
Production company: Sunday Punch
PR Agency: Spark PR & Activate
Director: Ryan Hutchings & Jarrod Holt from The Downlow Concept
Producer: Rachel Wisebey & Nikki Smith
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