[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN6uQjDpod8]

Australia is shares a lot with Ireland: history; appalling roads and public transport, and poxy broadband service. There’s a lot of providers out there, but despite competition the prices are still sky-high. The wireless prices are prohibitive (and useless when, like me, you live under a cliff), the landliners charge you line rental, and all of them will scalp you for a 24-month contract, which is useless if you’re planning on leaving the country before that’s up.

One of the new providers, hoping beyond hope that they can get their broadband doovalackies into every exchange in Australia, is iinet. They’re canvassing pretty hard in the media at the moment, too.

Funny thing is, the face of their entire ad campaign is an Irish guy in a brown V-neck. It’s got some typically redneck Aussies all riled up that iinet are using an immigint (even before it was the bears….) to advertise an Australian product.

Check out their ads here. They’re instantly recognisable, funny, and simple. Apparently they were all over the Eurovision last night. The bottom one’s a cracker. Enjoy

Update: This campaign gets better and better.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnV7Nydf9L4]

As my editor so rightly asked: “How did they lose?”

Ukraine, you’re a vision.

For years now, the ‘Backpacker King‘ has been the official tour provider for Neighbours, organising the weekly ‘Meet the Neighbours’ nights in Melbourne, and the monthly version in Sydney.

But from the Herald Sun comes news that Ramsay Street’s favourite scheming scoundrel, Mr Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi, is making moves to oust the Backpacker King from his throne and provide his own Neighbour’s nights.

He has the backing of a good portion of the cast (some still swear allegiance to the king), including the actors playing Harold Bishop and Paul Robinson. This means war.