Warning overseas friends and family of the danger of becoming strangers.

We all have those friends or family members who are always saying they’ll come and visit New Zealand. One day. When they get the chance. When things quieten down. But how long is too long before a promised visit turns into a distant memory?

That’s the thinking behind our new campaign for Tourism New Zealand’, Don’t be a Stranger, a playful nudge to overseas friends and family to stop putting off that long-overdue visit and come across the ditch.

At the heart of the social-led campaign is Aussie-turned-honorary-Kiwi Bree Tomasel, who takes matters into her own hands by inviting her old friend, Australian comedian Tanya Hennessy, to New Zealand for a much-needed catch-up. And she does it through song, with a little public embarrassment thrown in for good measure.

With Australia as the priority market, alongside the UK and Canada, the campaign is running internationally to encourage more visitors to reconnect with the people they miss, and experience a little more of New Zealand along the way.