Kazakhstan adopts Borat's catchphrase 'very nice' for new tourism advert
Borat's catchphrase "very nice" has been adopted by Kazakhstan's tourism board in its new advertising campaign.
The phrase is used by the film character Borat - which is played by actor Sacha Baron Cohen - a fictional journalist from Kazakhstan.
The first Borat film caused outrage in the country, and authorities threatened to sue creator Sacha Baron Cohen.
However, the country's tourism board has now embraced Borat as a perfect marketing tool, particularly as a second Borat film has just been released and has received a lot of attention - even by US President Donald Trump.
In the new tourism campaign, tourists visit a multitude of sites in Kazakhstan while saying Borat's catchphrase "very nice" in four 12-second clips.
The 2006 film, 'Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan' was banned in the country because of its portrayal of the former soviet state.
The film parodied life in rural Kazakhstan and showed Borat leave for America but struggling as he tried to adapt to Western life.
Officials said the 2006 film portrayed Kazakhstan as a racist, sexist and primitive country.
In the film Borat bragged about incest and rape. He also joked that the former Soviet nation had the cleanest prostitutes in the world.
But, years later the Kazakhstan government thanked Sacha Baron Cohen for boosting tourism in the country.
Deputy chairman of Kazakh Tourism, Kairat Sadvakassov, said in a statement: "Kazakhstan's nature is very nice. Its food is very nice. And its people, despite Borat's jokes to the contrary, are some of the nicest in the world."
He added: "We would like everyone to come experience Kazakhstan for themselves by visiting our country in 2021 and beyond, so that they can see that Borat's homeland is nicer than they may have heard."
After learning that Kazakhstan’s tourism board had changed their tune about his franchise, Baron Cohen said in a statement: "[Borat] is a comedy and the Kazakhstan in the film has nothing to do with the real country.
"I chose Kazakhstan because it was a place that almost nobody in the US knew anything about, which allowed us to create a wild, comedic, fake world."
The comedian added: "The real Kazakhstan is a beautiful country with a modern, proud society - the opposite of Borat’s version."