NZ Opera

Unruly tourists

Services:
Brand
OOH
Social

Challenge

Opera is seen as a dignified, if slightly stuffy, artform. In the battle to get much younger bums on seats, NZ Opera needed to be more innovative in both their show choices and the ways they promoted them.

Solution

The ‘Unruly Tourists’ were a band of overseas visitors who invaded New Zealand’s shores. They tested our patience, both captivating and repelling us.
In 2023, NZ Opera took this provocative story to the stage.
To promote the show, NZ Opera created an Us Vs Them campaign. The actual insults posted on social media sites by angry Kiwis were pitted against those of the tourists. The abuse became our headlines. And this led to the inevitable question ‘Who was truly unruly?”

Results

Successful? You f***ing betcha. The campaign resulted in sell out shows and a dramatic uplift in younger audience members. Turns out that trash sells.