Australia viewed as ‘dumb blonde’ of the world, says expert

SYDNEY - Australia is considered the ‘dumb blonde’ of the world, attractive but shallow and unintelligent, says a British branding expert.

Simon Anholt said Australia’s one-dimensional image meant that events such as attacks on Indian students could do greater damage than in countries with which people were more familiar.

“A well-rounded national reputation is an insurance policy against that kind of thing,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying.

Anholt said the results of an annual national reputation survey he oversees with public affairs company GfK Roper showed Australia’s reputation in India had been badly tarnished.

Overall, the survey of 39,000 people in 26 countries ranked Australia the ninth most admired country.

But Anholt said the success of tourism promotion campaigns had produced an ‘unbalanced’ view of the country.

“What you have is an image of a country that is considered to be very decorative, but not very useful,” he said.

Anholt said Australia relied too much on ‘logos and slogans’ in its efforts to change people’s minds about the country.

“Rather than waste time fiddling around with promotional campaigns, what Australia needs to do is to invest in the sectors which demonstrate its seriousness and its capability and education is one of them,” added Anholt.

He was speaking at a conference on international education in Sydney. (ANI)