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<\/p>\nA billboard flashing a variety of ads along a busy road is something the average hurried motorist might easily ignore.<\/p>\n
But a giant sign with grinning, muscular, cartoon crocodiles, rowing in the Fitzroy River with the words “Push Off Penrith” has left Rockhampton residents intrigued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The billboard first caught public attention last year, amid debate about whether the central Queensland city would host flatwater rowing and canoeing at the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n
Generating chatter on social media, in local government meetings and newspaper gossip columns, there had been no answer to the question of who was behind the campaign until now.<\/p>\n
But underneath the flashing LED lights was no council-funded campaign or political tennis match, as some thought, but rather a grass-roots advertisement from two passionate locals, keen to see their city shine.<\/p>\n
“It’s just a couple of local people wanting good things for Rockhampton,” retiree and billboard owner Peter McGregor said.<\/p>\n
He teamed up with a friend in advertising to design the billboard and display it between paid ads.<\/p>\n
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Warren Acutt conceded he did use AI to design the ad, as it was a “bit hard” to get crocodiles to sit in a row boat.\u00a0 (ABC Capricornia: Katrina Beavan)<\/p>\n
The grandfather first decided to act when he heard Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggest Penrith as a more suitable location for the rowing on a sports podcast last year.<\/p>\n
“The only motive we have is we want the rowing in Rockhampton,” Mr McGregor said.<\/p>\n
When it first appeared, the mystery billboard piqued the interest of politicians and councillors curious about who was behind it.<\/p>\n
“It’s been quite fun actually. We wanted it to be noticed, and it’s certainly been noticed by many people,” Mr McGregor said.<\/p>\n
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Peter McGregor says he wanted to do his bit to support Rockhampton hosting Olympic rowing. (ABC Capricornia: Katrina Beavan)<\/p>\n
Advertising business owner Warren Acutt, who designed the ad with artificial intelligence, agreed.<\/p>\n
He said he was inspired by all the apparent concerns about crocodiles living in the future Olympic venue.<\/p>\n
“Obviously the crocodiles have got a lot of attention, so we thought why not highlight that and have a little play on it,” he said.<\/p>\n
The ad was swapped out for an alternative some months later, which featured the word “Rockhampton” in capital letters, highlighting the word “can”.<\/p>\n
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Two preferred \u201cfield of play\u201d options are being assessed\u00a0for the river ahead of independent technical analysis. (ABC: Alice Roberts)<\/p>\n
Secret sauce the ‘larrikin’ factor<\/p>\n
Rockhampton Mayor Tony Williams said in an initial meeting about the Olympic rowing, stakeholders and politicians wrongly thanked the council for the billboard.<\/p>\n
“I said, ‘Well, it wasn’t council.’<\/p>\n
“And everyone looked around the table to see who sponsored that sign to go up there. We were all scratching our heads.”<\/p>\n
Once the mystery was solved, it won the mayor’s support.<\/p>\n
“It’s a light-hearted, humorous look at the situation,” he said.<\/p>\n
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Tony Williams, pictured with Fitzroy Rowing Club president Sarah Black, is pushing for the city to host the event.\u00a0 (ABC Capricornia: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n
Graeme Hughes, business and consumer specialist from Griffith University, said the billboard was strategic from a marketing perspective, because it did not come off as a “polished government ad”.<\/p>\n
“The secret sauce here is that larrikin factor,” Mr Hughes said.<\/p>\n
“Australian consumers, particularly in regional areas, have a very high rubbish detector. We can smell a corporate PR [public relations] stunt a mile away.<\/p>\n
“It works because it doesn’t smell like a boardroom, more like a local conversation.”<\/p>\n
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Graeme Hughes says the billboard’s “secret sauce” is the “larrikin factor”. (ABC News)<\/p>\n
Rowing politics<\/p>\n
Since the state government confirmed Rockhampton as the host of the sport at the 2032 Games in March last year, there has been debate over whether it was a suitable location.<\/p>\n
The decision to hold the Olympic rowing in a river with crocodiles made international headlines, and prompted campaigns for the race to be moved to south-east Queensland or interstate to Sydney.<\/p>\n
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