Sometimes we have to get lost to find ourselves. Sometimes we have to push away life’s daily routine, trivial and non-sense in order to truly savor life in all its forms and all its beauty.  To distinguish between wants and needs. To rediscover your priorities in life. To understand life is not only about work.

These are the absolutely beautiful messages within the US$26 million international advertising campaign by Tourism Australia. The commercial, directed by Baz Luhrmann, also pays a subtle tribute to his own award-winning movie Australia, starred by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. The commercial encourages the tourists to refresh themselves by getting away from their daily hustle and bustle, while in the movie Jackman tries to persuade Kidman to go to Australia with him to discover a new life.

To me, this is one of my recent favourite advertising. The scenery is stunning. The message is beautiful.  Not only does it make you think of exploring Australia, it also reminds you of something important in your life. Yet reading from the comments on YouTube, the reaction is rather mixed and seems it is only appealing to foreign tourists like me, well, you can never get the best of both worlds, can’t you?