Melbourne! People say it.

                 Federation Square in Mel: Building is at the top ten ugliest in the world. 
                              Picture from http://allcity7.com/showthread.php?t=95




I just can`t get it. Melbourne is the most liveable city in the world? Yes, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability ranking, in a recent Economist blog post. Incredibly, they say infrastructure and entertainment are some of the analysed topics.


Man, trains and trams are heavily crowded during rush hour period and beyond. You have no trains after 12am on weekends and it`s not difficult at all to have cancelled or delayed trains any time of the day. I lived in Perth and from there I could hear, along with the whole country, how bad public transportation in Melbourne really is . 


It`s crowded, indeed, and costly too. Okay, i`m not writing this to be controversial, but it feels weird to be living in a city that doesn`t make up for the statistics. There`s culture, but from time to time, it`s not everywhere and it`s not all the time. The city may be a bit effusive when you think of clubs, perhaps, but not to the actor Ashton Kutcher, who has mentioned Melbourne`s mid-week as lame.


Back in Brasilia, Brazil, where I grew up, so much has changed in some years while I was away. I think there`s more diversity in culture here than in Melbourne (!!?) Lots of festivals, concerts, plenty of exhibitions. You just have to pick one and go.


Nevertheless, I feel blessed to have lived in Australia, and Melbourne is a lovely place. So I know now how is it to live in the most liveable city in the world (at the year 2011.)

100% Pure New Zealand

New Zealand was a good ride. One week and a half of short trips and sightseeing. Before that, I was living in Australia for a long while, and, my apologies to all, I thought both countries would be the same. I mean, there is a sense of community between the two nations, and it caused me to think they were one.

Of course, they are not the same. Different history, different politics, industries… Different mentality. Yes, it does make a difference. Not staying as long there as I did in Australia, I could not say whether there was a huge difference between societies or not. It is too short a time to tell.

What I could see was the sightseeing, and the difference was there. Auckland – the city that I stayed the most – has billboards displaying reasonably good ads. They were quite intelligent and cheeky. There was something inside of me telling 'I kinda knew it'.

Billboard near Halminton, NZ.

What I’m saying is, Australia's advertising industry compared to New Zealand's is creatively poor ( not only New Zealand ). I wanted to stay In Australia for good, but thankfully I did not. My aim was building a career in marketing and advertising. I do not think I would be happy there. On the other hand, I heard about New Zealand’s advertising, and I liked it.

                               Billboards near Beach road,in Auckland,NZ.


It is not only me saying Australia does not make good advertising. The British media coverage website, The Drum, reveals that in 2009, the ASB, the Australian Advertising Standards Bureau, received 4000 complaints in relation to bad ads. In 2008, the same association in the United Kingdom, got 2500 viewers complaints.

Australian tourism campaigns turn out to be known for bad taste, instead of good publicity. This opinion is also shared on the Truth.Travel website. There is also a channel on YouTube on bad Australian ads called Badaussietelly. No need to say anything else perhaps.

New Zealand ads are fun and witty, and this is something Australia is finding hard to be. In this sense, only an alternative Aussie TV program about advertising, The Gruen Transfer, would bring the discussion on prime time, and talk about it. Nonetheless, it pokes its jealous finger on NZ’s ads.