Shrimp on the barbie
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"Shrimp on the barbie" is an often-quoted phrase that originated in a series of television advertisements by the Australian Tourism Commission starring Paul Hogan from 1984 through to 1990.[1] The actual quote spoken by Hogan is "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you", and the actual slogan of the ad was "Come and say G'day". It has since been popularly used along with some variations since to make reference to Australia in popular culture.
The advertisement pre-dated Hogan's popularity in the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee and thus were not seen initially as celebrity advertisements as he was unknown in the United States.[1]
The advertisements were developed by the Australian agency Mojo in conjunction with American agency N.W. Ayer.
The campaign was launched during the National Football Conference Championship Game in January 1984. Before the campaign, Australia was approximately number 78 on the “most desired” vacation destination list for Americans but became number 7 three months after the launch, and soon became number 1 or 2 on American’s “dream vacation” list, and remaining in that position for most of the next two decades.[1]
"Barbie" is Australian slang for "barbecue," and the phrase "slip a shrimp on the barbie" often evokes images of a fun social gathering under the sun. Australians, however, invariably use the word "prawn" rather than "shrimp." Since the commercial was commissioned for broadcast in the United States, the change was made to limit audience confusion.[1]
Australian prawns are prepared in several ways (including less commonly, on a barbecue such as in the advertisement), but more usually being purchased cooked and served cold during warm weather (known as "shrimp cocktail" in the US).
[edit] Pop culture references
- The Shrimp on the Barbie is the title of a 1990 film set in Australia, starring Cheech Marin.
- Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) utters the line in the 1994 film Dumb & Dumber when trying to pick up an Austrian woman.
- Marge Simpson says the line in the 2004 The Simpsons episode "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife".
- Lawrence Jamieson (Michael Caine) utters the line in the 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels when trying to imitate an Australian businessman.
- In the 2005 film The Dukes of Hazzard, a largely incomphrehensible version of the saying is uttered by a smitten Bo Duke (Seann William Scott) upon meeting an Australian woman.
- In a "Pearls Before Swine" strip, Pastis uses the term "throw another shrimp on the barbie" and Pig is shown throwing shrimp at a Barbie doll.
- In the episode "7 Continents for 7 Koopas" of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, when Cheatsy Koopa invades Australasia he changes a man into a shrimp and says "We're throwing a shrimp on Barbie!".
- The slogan was also a basis of the title of a 1996 Rocko's Modern Life episode, Wimp on the Barbie.
- Aziz Ansari, the fruit vendor, says the line pejoratively to Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie in the 2007 Flight of the Conchords (TV series) episode "Drive By (Flight of the Conchords)" because he mistook them for Australians. When in fact they are New Zealanders (aka "Kiwis").
- J.D. (Scrubs) in the season 7 final of Scrubs says the line while pretending to have Foreign Accent syndrome. He delivers the line with an English accent, then stops because he believed the line to originate from Ireland.
- T-Rex mentions the phrase in Dino Comics while trying to explain to Utahraptor various narrative strategies for explaining that Batman is Australian without ever overtly stating it. http://www.qwantz.com/archive/001206.html
[edit] Media
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Baker, Bill; and Peggy Bendel. "Come and Say G’Day!". Travel Marketing Decisions (Summer 2005). The Association of Travel Marketing Executives.
