Qantas
Koala - "I hate Qantas!" was the popular catchphrase
delivered by a cute, furry little Koala bear who was the spokes-bear for
the Qantas Airlines. The original commercials featured a koala bear
sitting amidst the branches of a Eucalyptus tree where the bear could be
heard whining about the increased tourist trade coming via Qantas to
disturb the solitude of the Australian Continent. The advertisements,
first filmed at the San Diego Zoo and later in Australia, depicted the
Koala sitting in a director's chair sporting a hip pair of sunglasses and
flying in a first class seat of a Qantas Jetliner. The campaign was
created in 1967 by Cunningham & Walsh Agency and filmed by Lee Lacy &
Associates. TRIVIA NOTE: In recent years Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan has
become the commercial spokesperson for the land down under. He jokingly
remarked: "American's love to come to Australia but hate to leave. That's
why we hire men with big clubs to beat them back onto the airplanes." Two
phrases made popular through his advertisements have been "Good Day, Mate"
and "Put another shrimp on the bar-bee." The corporate
logo for the Qantas Airlines is now a stylized silhouette of a hopping
kangaroo.
