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Tourism Australia recruits Kylie Minogue for lavish, new commercial

Australia’s most beloved gay icon features in the country’s latest tourism commercial. Kylie Minogue is the star of a lavish three-minute advert that hit social media on Christmas Day.

The advert is aimed at the UK market, and even references the divisiveness that the United Kingdom has experienced in 2019 while wrestling with implementing Brexit, its departure from the European Union.

https://youtu.be/QMAq8F8N2Fg

“This year’s been tough and confusing,” sings Kylie at the start, “But progress is moving…”

“At a glacial pace,” chips in comedian Adam Hills.

“But all of Australia loves you,” continues Kylie, “And we’ll never judge you.”

She goes on to extol the virtues of a recuperative trip Down Under.

The clip finds her donning mechanic overalls, in a nod to her first big break in the soap opera, Neightbours, and later, lying on a beach towel, reprising her iconic video for the song, “Slow”.

Also featured in the clip are world-famous cricketer Shane Warne, tennis player Ash Barty, and openly gay Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe.

In a behind-the-scenes interview, Kylie, who is 50 years old at the time of making the video, said the project “was a dream come true.”

Related: Gay bars in Sydney

She said filming the clip had allowed her to visit parts of Australia she hadn’t been before and revisit parts she already knew to be beautiful. She suggested the advert was not too big a leap for her as, “I kind of feel like a walking tourism advert for Australia anyways.”

https://youtu.be/_VPGfx4xRbY

Kylie Minogue grew up in Melbourne and is now based in London, where she found huge pop success in the late 1980s. She remains a big draw in both the UK and Australia, and has performed previously at Sydney’s annual Lesbian and Gay Mardi Gras.

The commericial has prompted thousands of comments online. Although welcomed by many Kylie fans, some Australians have criticized its release at a time when many parts of the country are battling bush-fires and record-breaking high temperatures. 

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