We had $100,000 for production and media. Not much? We know. So our first port of call was the Tourism Tasmania media library. Here we found sufficient imagery to create an absurd series of trailers, which we launched virally.Then we built a site: tasmaniathemovie.com. We stocked this site with heaps of interesting and bizarre content, like director’s commentaries, more trailers, behind the scenes videos, posters and stories. This content told potential tourists all about the beautiful island of Tasmania. And if they felt inclined to visit, they could book their flights, accommodation and even draw up itineraries on the site.

We created movie posters that ran outdoor, in cinema complexes and with movie listings in press. We sent out a media kit, then our lead viral ran in cinema – before screenings of Australia. We made banners and small space press and more. Everything directed people to the site, and ultimately, to the island of Tasmania.

There was so much pressure surrounding the oh-so-serious launch of Australia, as soon as our piss-take launched, the press went mad for it. There were articles in all the local papers like The Daily Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald and on local TV shows like The Today Show. But really amazing was the international media coverage – stories appeared in London’s Telegraph, The LA Times, The New York Post and a heap more from places as far away as Finland.

And then there were the virals: Over 513,000 views on YouTube, 16,000+ visitors to the site from all over the world. But most of all was the word of mouth – it seemed every time Australia was mentioned so too was the irreverent Tasmania, who, despite being forgotten about got its own back in a funny, warm and down-to-earth Tasmanian way.