Victoria’s capital city is well-known for it’s quirky hipster culture, fantastic shopping and gloomy weather.
But the new Visit Melbourne advertisement has taken that reputation from quirky to bizarre, with the journey-through-time theme leaving viewers scratching their heads.
The obscure one minute clip shows four sprightly 20-somethings transition through vintage culture-specific outfits as they take in the city’s landmarks.
A puzzling new Visit Melbourne video advertisement appears to liken the city to life in the 1950s rather than draw on its funky hipster culture
Setting off from the lobby of an inner city hotel, the group appear marching down a graffiti lined alleyway in gangsta fashion, wearing fur coats and flat caps.
The catch phrase ‘I think it’s this way’ connects each transformation to the next era, with a different group member making the hopeful statement before each outfit change.
At one point, the troupe clad in 50s-style black tie costumes settle at a dining table at a lavish jazz club, before being told ‘I think it’s that way’ by a man on stage.
Next, the four stare blankly at a wall in bland block-coloured turtle neck tops and monotonous trousers, before turning in uniform and walking away single file.
The four strangely stare blankly at a wall in bland block coloured turtle neck tops before turning in uniform and walking away single file
A scene from a black and white film then unfolds, as a soldier character boards a steam train after kissing his girlfriend and announcing ‘I think it’s this way’.
Football players jog into a packed stadium as ‘this way’ displays on the big screen, before the group emerges strutting down a street dressed in colourful attire with armfuls of shopping.
In the most baffling sequence, they’re joined on a rooftop by others dressed in rocker chic as they perform a West Side Story-style dance number.
Finally, they revert to their original styling and proclaim ‘I think this is it’ and appearing dumbstruck upon arriving at a rooftop bar.
A scene from a black and white film unfolds, as an imitation soldier character boards a steam train after kissing his girlfriend and announcing ‘I think it’s this way’
The string of mismatched themes forms Visit Melbourne’s ambitious jive to represent the city’s diverse offerings and encourage more tourists into the city.
It will air online, on TV and in Cinemas from Sunday, with its official slogan ‘A Twist At Every Turn’.
The advertisement forms part of a five year campaign aimed at boosting ‘Melbourne’s most valuable’ industry.
Visitors to the city brought $4.3 billion last financial year, which Tourism Minister John Eren hopes to expand to $6.6 billion by next year, The Age reports.Â
The string of mismatched themes forms Melbourne’s ambitious jive to represent the city’s diverse offerings an encourage more tourists into the city