Rapper Snoop Dogg has launched a new marketing campaign with MTV to become a citizen in Australia, after being banned from entering the country in April, because of his criminal record and recent run-ins with the law.
The network announced today (July 4) that a series of shorts would run on all of the pay channels that carry MTV in Australia, featuring footage of Snoop Dogg filmed during a previous trip last February, when he was granted entry into the country.
“Journey with me as I become a citizen of the land Down Under,” Snoop Dogg said in a press release for the ads, which start airing Thursday (July 5).
MTV Australia will break the comedic 11-minute short into 19 spots, which feature the rapper on various beaches, purchasing a home in Sydney’s exclusive Vaucluse residential area and urging everyone to “get the girls ready … and put on the barbecue.”
The spots also feature Australian singer/actress Sophie Monk and a fictional lawyer named “Bob Hardcastle,” who argues that Snoop Dogg should be allowed into the country.
Snoop Dogg, 35, was supposed to host the Australian MTV Music Awards in April, but Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews denied the rapper’s visa because of his legal woes and previous criminal convictions in the United States.
The clips will also be shown to MTV’s mobile and Internet subscribers.
Fans can log on to http://www.mtv.com.au/snoop/ to vote, show their support for the rapper and sign a petition to grant the rapper citizenship into Australia.