Australia's Queensland Tourist Board is using the strained world economy as part of a new campaign giving job-seekers the opportunity to live six months rent-free on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef and make $150,000! In addition to basking in the sun all day, the job requires that the "island caretaker" keep a blog of their stay.

The successful candidate will be asked to keep a blog and photo diary in exchange for six months rent-free on Hamilton Island as part of a $150,000 salary package that includes return airfares and travel insurance.

This unique marketing strategy is designed to help promote the islands of the Great Barrier Reef internationally (I mean, who DOESN'T already want to visit them!?) and candidates will have to go through "a genuine recruitment process" to be considered.




Australian Marketing Institute president Roger James said in a WA Today article that the campaign's success lies in the resulting blog's content and how it is marketed: "I've got to decide to log on to the blog ... and to make that work you have to have a communication that is arresting and interesting," he said. "If we end up with little videos or this person wandering around the islands and they're just happy snaps it may not generate much interest at all."



Though perhaps the biggest deterrent for potential readers will be the overwhelming envy for whoever gets the world's cushiest blogger position EVER! I guess what I'm trying to say is.......SIGN ME UP!