She rose to fame in Tourism Australia's controversial Where the bloody hell are you? ads, but now Lara Bingle has turned her back on her homeland and is promoting New Zealand instead.
The model and reality TV star appears in the latest instalment of Air New Zealand's Kiwi Sceptics campaign, which is designed to change perceptions of The Land of the Long White Cloud in Australian who have never been there before.
While Bingle said it was a bit "weird'' to be promoting another country, she said her attitude was "the more the merrier''.
"It's close to Australia so it's not like promoting India,'' she said.
"It's somewhere that represents me - I'm kind of that tomboy girl and I went heli-boarding and stayed in an igloo.''
Bingle said the experience was "completely different'' to the one she had filming of the Where the bloody hell are you? campaign in Queensland's Whitsundays.
"I love going to the snow and snowboarding, skateboarding and wakeboarding,'' she said.
"It's nice to represent other parts of the world.
"The association is so nice for me instead of just fashion and beauty - it's something different and I love travelling.
"I got to travel with Tourism Australia and now I'm travelling with Air New Zealand.''
But Bingle said she wouldn't forget where she started.
"Tourism Australia helped me get to where I am today obviously... and it's definitely going to stick with me for the rest of my life,'' she said.
"When I went to New Zealand that's where the people there knew me from.
"I just never really thought much of New Zealand until I went. Now I'm planning another trip there.''
Bingle was paired with Kiwi guide Hayley Holt - also a former WAG and reality show star - as she explored Queenstown and surrounds.
As well as heli-boarding near Wanakasleeping in a snow cave halfway up a mountain at The Remarkables she appears snowboarding at Coronet Peak.
The six-minute video is narrated by Flight of the Conchords star Rhys Darby.
The trip, which can be seen at www.kiwisceptics.com, will feature in next week's episode of the Network Ten series of Being Lara Bingle.
A Tourism Australia spokesman said as a rule it doesn't comment on other country's tourism campaigns, preferring to focus instead on its own.
"The latest phase of our There's nothing like Australia campaign allows Australia to speak for itself and the approach is proving a huge global success, with the new ad being viewed 20 million times already since being launched just over six weeks ago,'' he said.
"New Zealand remains Australias largest international visitor arrival market, and with almost 1.2 million Kiwis visiting our shores last year, we think we're doing a pretty good job of getting Australia's message out to the world, including across the ditch.''
Source: Herald Sun
Published Date: 24th July 2012
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