RealEstate.com.au is flexing some serious muscle in its latest advertising campaign, landing Arnold Schwarzenegger, a.k.a. The Terminator, as the star of the multi-million-dollar national marketing blitz.
The ads are part of RealEstate’s “Australia Lives Here” campaign, and is based on the premise that Arnie has decided to move back to his native homeland, but in the process confuses Australia with Austria.
The campaign actually kicked off with secret social media activity on Schwarzenegger’s official Twitter account several weeks ago, with series of tweets between the actor and the character Dylan, revealed in the ads to be the three-time Mr Universe’s hapless Australian assistant.
According to The Australian, Dylan’s new life in LA has been playing out on Twitter and Instagram since late June, with followers finding out that he had scored a new job with a famous identity. A series of video diaries has also been released, seeing Dylan run through the features of the site as he talks about his dealings with Schwarzenegger.
In a statement, the former Californian Governor said he had enjoyed the process. “I had such a fantastic experience making the commercials for realestate.com.au with acclaimed American comedy director John Hamburg,” said Schwarzenegger. Hamburg has also worked on films like I Love You Man, Meet The Parents and Zoolander.
“I learnt a lot about Australia in the process, like how to say Wagga Wagga. I also found it’s hard to find a home with a cheese cave or professionally equipped gym.” The campaign will also be utilising Twitter with the hashtag #ausliveshere and with a handle created for the assistant @dylanblocke.
