For an extreme holiday, come visit Dagobah
Did your plans for a summer cruise on Alderaan get blown to hell? Then it's time to consider a pulse-pounding week on Dagobah, the secluded swampy getaway that's guaranteed to muddy your boots and clear your mind. This marketing video from the Dagobah Tourism Bureau (aka writer and filmmaker Andrew Zilch) will make you want to ditch your friends and enjoy some quality quagmire time. So, if you've been looking for a place with low ceilings, disgusting food and annoying retirees, but you're tired of Florida, come watch the days go by on Dagobah. Hat tip to my brother-in-law, via Topless Robot. |
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Published on November 19, 2009 | Permalink
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Florida Keys ads say there's no app for that
There's an app for almost everything, except for things that occur outside the iPhone's 480-by-320-pixel screen. That's the message in this spot by Tinsley Advertising for the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, representing the Florida Keys & Key West. "Real experiences are always worth more," says the voiceover. "So, unplug and reconnect in the Florida Keys & Key West." The Keys join Dentyne gum and Coleman camping gear among the advertisers who are positioning themselves in opposition to the inexorable march of technology. —Posted by Tim Nudd
Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 10, 2009 | Permalink
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Tourism Queensland disses 'Best Job' shop
It was the most successful, award-winning tourism campaign of the year. And yet "The Best Job in the World" was not enough to get its creators hired as Tourism Queensland's lead agency. Sure, the quirky quest for an Australian island caretaker sparked international buzz and racked up every top-shelf prize in the industry, including three Grand Prix at Cannes. What you may not have heard is that the project's agency, SapientNitro (formerly CumminsNitro), was passed over in August when Tourism Queensland put its account up for review. The snub was a hot point of debate this weekend, as "Best Job" won Australia's top newspaper ad prize. "How can that happen?" the award committee chairman vented. "That's just not fair." I posed the same question on Sunday to Michael Branagh, national managing director for SapientNitro Brisbane. He told me: "We participated in the review, but we actually weren't successful. We thought we were in pretty good stead, but we were beaten by a global behemoth." That winner was incumbent lead agency Clemenger BBDO, which promptly launched the "Hey hey, this is Queensland" campaign, which has been roundly panned. The new campaign even featured "Best Job" candidates, and tourism officials continue to find ways to milk the project for even more publicity. (Branagh says SapientNitro's involvement ended in July.) So, if you're one of the countless tourism marketers looking to piggyback on Queensland's success, here's some good news: You can actually hire the agency that made "Best Job" a global phenomenon. Just cut them some slack if they seem insistent about a long-term contract. —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on October 26, 2009 | Permalink
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Killer Vegas chinchillas still wreaking havoc
The killer chinchillas are back in this "Three Musketeers" spot, set in France, by R&R Partners for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. It's as absurdly entertaining as the critters' June debut in a south-of-the-border mini-epic that introduced the concept of "Chinchilli Day," a fake holiday used by office drones to take time off from work and hit the Vegas Strip. Once more, the furry-faced hell-raisers unleash comic mayhem on humankind, using swords this time instead of guns and explosives. The chinchillas have no real Vegas connection, and yet the rage-filled rodents have become, in my mind at least, inextricably linked with Sin City. They're the anti-ad icons, brand mascots trapped in a campaign they never made. If they were feted at Advertising Week, they'd blow up the Walk of Fame because, well, that's what they seem to do best. At the very least, they'd give Ronald McDonald fleas. Here's hoping.
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Published on September 14, 2009 | Permalink
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Scotland ad's fake leaves cause mini uproar
The British like nothing better than a good advertising scandal, but this one borders on the idiotic. The Scottish tourism organization VisitScotland has come under scrutiny for—horror of horrors—using plastic leaves in this photo, which advertises autumn vacations in the country. The Telegraph has a whole story on it, in which the tourism people sound irritated at even having to address the issue. "Of course some of the leaves are fake," says one. "The picture is designed to promote autumn, and despite the cooler weather recently ... it was not possible to bring on an early autumn." She adds: "As we're sure all sensible people will appreciate, as autumn has yet to begin, it would be rather difficult to create this beautiful autumnal shot without the use of a few minor props." The little girl in the photo is named Autumn Doring—a name which, in light of the leaves issue, was subsequently questioned as well. But the tourism people say that's really her name. "We especially went out and found an Autumn," says the rep. See also: |
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Published on September 3, 2009 | Permalink
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Victoria Tourism lets you be naughty or nice
Australia's Victoria Tourism continues its tradition of cinematic advertising with this beautiful 90-second spot, "Lead a Double Life," starring Isabel Lucas (aka "the girl in Transformers 2 who's not Megan Fox"). It might be more accurate to say the ad stars singer Paris Wells, whose rendition of "Down to the River to Pray" makes for a hauntingly wonderful score. Back in 2006, Victoria Tourism created similar—if a tad more surreal—ads for Yarra Valley and Melbourne. This time, the destination is Daylesford, a rural region known for its natural springs and spas. Apparently it's a great place for nighttime debauchery followed by a day of awkward stares from the farmhands who totally saw you getting nasty with the wait staff. |
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Published on August 19, 2009 | Permalink
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World’s best job apparently keeps you busyAfter only three weeks, Ben Southall, the 34-year-old Briton who won Australia's much-touted, Cannes Lion-winning "Best Job in the World" is already receiving criticism that he's falling down on it. Specifically, he’s accused of not updating his blog enough. Since July 1, he’s written seven entries, which, according to at least some of the 94,000 people who signed up to receive automatic updates, is not nearly enough. Tourism Queensland has also come under fire for giving Southall completely packed itineraries with no time to explore the reef privately or “to be more creative, humorous or personal in his reporting.” The tourism officials say that spotty Internet access is to blame for the scant blog updates, and they’ve vowed to give him a little more free time to enjoy the “unbeatable” Queensland lifestyle. But maybe he shouldn’t change a thing. If you do the math, his monthly income is averaging at $2,857 per blog post. I plan to cite this as the new industry standard during my next contract renegotiation with AdFreak. (Photo credit: Tourism Queensland on Flickr.) —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on July 24, 2009 | Permalink
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Appalachian Trail last refuge of a scoundrel
It's not uncommon for a brand to find itself tied into a scandal in the role of innocent bystander. The Appalachian Trail is a current case in point. Since yesterday, the news has been full of the fact that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was not hiking the trail (as he had claimed he'd be doing) but instead straying from the straight and narrow—all the way to Argentina and his extramarital lover. Under the circumstances, it seems inevitable that "I'm going off to hike the Appalachian Trail" will become a popular euphemism for "I'm having an affair with someone in Buenos Aires." Then again, if this is a misfortune for the image of the trail, it might help promote tourism to Argentina. —Posted by Mark Dolliver |
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Published on June 25, 2009 | Permalink
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Las Vegas tourism ad stars killer chinchillas
Chinchillas armed with rifles and explosives—it's everyone's darkest nightmare. (It's a recurring dream of mine, anyway.) R&R Partners brings the furry furies to violent life in this new spot for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The chinchilla that "goes for the throat" reminds me a bit of the killer rabbit in Monty Python & the Holy Grail. Overall, however, these little devils have a better arsenal. The mayhem provides a a bored office worker with his unlikely excuse for needing a long weekend in Vegas. He's just commemorate a gory cultural holiday. "Every year my people celebrate the victory over the revolt," he explains to his boss. In my dreams, I'm the one with the hairy jowls and whiskers wielding the guns. Viva la revolución! |
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Published on June 8, 2009 | Permalink
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Canada's a scream in new CTC tourism ads
Canadians want you to know there's more to Canada than Kraft Dinner and unendurably cold winters. And by "you," they don't mean Americans. They mean other Canadians. The Canadian Tourism Commission is sinking $10 million a year over the next two years into the national "Locals Know" tourism campaign, in which Canadians are invited "to seek out new and exotic experiences in places they didn't know existed." The idea is to keep tourism dollars at home instead of feeding the American economy. And it turns out there's a lot to do in Canada. You can scream while out on the town, scream on a surfboard, or scream from what looks like 50 feet in the air. Boating among whales is also an option. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on June 2, 2009 | Permalink
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Pennsylvania ads are a long-form love story
Red Tettemer pulls out the stops for Pennsylvania Tourism in a high-concept Web series launching today with movie posters splashed around NYC and all manner of social-media tie-ins. The offering's called "Peter Arthur Stories." According to the press materials, it "tells the story of a 20-something young man at the crossroads of adulthood. We follow him follow his heart across Pennsylvania in search of his long-lost, pre-adolescent love, a waitress named Meg who served him the best piece of shoofly pie he ever had." It's a full 26 minutes long, broken into four episodes of six-plus minutes each. (That's the trailer above, and the first episode below.) The series looks charmingly quirky, but it's an investment. It might take less time to enjoy everything worth seeing in Philly! And what happened to the Weavers from last year's tourism pitch? Maybe they ate too much shoofly pie. UPDATE: Coincidentally, Red Tettemer has also unveiled a new tourism campaign for Philly. There are 55 different creative executions, all in the form of short love letters. Here's one addressed to powdered-wig lovers. |
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Published on May 14, 2009 | Permalink
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Las Vegas ads now just all sex and violence
In general, I dislike ads that employ faux-newscast scenarios, because they invariably trivialize a difficult and demanding profession. It's tough to pronounce people's names correctly on camera and not trip over the microphone cord while doing so. (Maria Bartiromo typically ends up flat on her face whenever she tries to say "Bernanke.") R&R Partners' latest tourism spot for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, however, scores by giving viewers what we've always wanted to see but know we never will: a hot on-camera babe peeling off her jacket to reveal a bikini beneath and party attitude to match. OK, we'll probably see it someday soon on Fox News or CNBC, but not on any reputable network. There's also a new "Shin Whack" ad (below). It shows middle-aged male doctors who thankfully keep their scrubs on, because I don't wanna know what they're wearing underneath. Lots of people have probably been "whacked" in Vegas through the years, what with the whole gangland element. |
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Published on May 12, 2009 | Permalink
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Palm Springs' little text message that could
With just one text message, the crappiest Web site I've seen in years, and some wonderfully timed drug violence in Mexico, the city of Palm Springs, Calif., has managed to win back the tourism business of hard-partying college spring breakers. And not a moment too soon. Some history: Palm Springs claims to have invented spring break, but alcohol-fueled riots in the '80s prompted then-mayor Sonny Bono to enact a bunch of no-no's (including a famous anti-thong ordinance) and send students skittering to Mexico. No one wants 1986 back, but Palm Springs relies on hotel-room taxes for a whopping one-fifth of its annual budget, and so, in these tough times, it wants the kids back. In a blinding argument for the power of mobile media, the Palm Springs Board of Tourism sent just one well-timed text message ("Skip Cabo, come to Palm Springs") to 55,000 college students, built that craptastic site, and saw hotel occupancy spike to new heights. Did the students enjoy it as much as Mexico, and will they return next year? According to one 19-year-old who was seen loading an autographed beer bong into his trunk, "It was real fun, from what I remembered." |
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Published on April 1, 2009 | Permalink
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Twitter's fail whale helps promote Baltimore
Here's the most Twitter-nerdy tourism effort of the year so far. To attract more followers to Baltimore tourism's Twitter account (@BaltimoreMD), the guy who runs it, Tom Rowe, pledged that a friend of his would get a tattoo of Twitter's iconic fail whale, and broadcast the tattooing on live webcam, if they could get past the 3,000 followers mark. Within hours of the challenge, they reached that milestone, and the friend, Ryan Goff (@tweetbomb), had his leg etched with the whale's image. Between this and Ace of Cakes, people might start to associate my city with things other than The Wire. So, good job, guys. I've certainly seen worse logo tattoos. |
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Published on March 10, 2009 | Permalink
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Fayetteville looking for a few good patriots
Quick, name the most patriotic city in America. Did you say Fayetteville? Probably not, but that's been the town's brand positioning for the past several years. Quick, name the state Fayetteville's in. Did you say North Carolina? If you did, you're better at geography than I am. Durham ad agency The Republik pledges the allegiance of Fayetteville (and Cumberland County more generally) in a tourism and business campaign that features gifts and apparel like T-shirts, caps, ties, keychains, mugs, dog collars, pens, doormats (they're trying to build up the permanent population, too) and even a flashlight that resembles the Statue of Liberty's torch. All include stars-and-stripes imagery and slogans like "Land of the free" and "Home of the brave." It's quite a change of heart for a town that was demolished by Sherman's army in 1865 for being "offensively rebellious." Which, by the way, is probably a better tourism slogan. |
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Published on March 2, 2009 | Permalink
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Enjoy the post-nuclear solitude in Wyoming
A new print campaign from Denver agency Cameron Christopher Thomas for the Wyoming Department of Transportation makes the state's Togwotee Trail look pretty intimidating. In fact, it looks like a post-apocalyptic world in the style of Cold-War-era nuke-scare movies like Panic in Year Zero. See three full ads here. Lonely vehicles speed to nowhere on winding roads; eerie green light seeps up from a riverbed; a lake and sky shimmer with a mysterious pink glow; a solitary figure atop a pile of rocks contemplates his fate. Yep, they must have dropped the big one. It's the end of civilization as we know it. Time to fish for three-eyed bass and watch one another's hair fall out. Worst of all: You're facing the ultimate holocaust in Wyoming! Even if the world hasn't ended, you'll feel like it has. |
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Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink
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Philly wants a little bit of what Virginia's got
As Gov. Tim Kaine reminded us the other day, Virginia is for lovers. But southeastern Pennsylvania has its amorous side, too. The Web video above—part of Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp.'s 10-week, love-themed tourism promotion, which debuted Jan. 15—shows Philadelphians of every stripe and persuasion (gay, straight, young, old, human, not) smooching near Robert Indiana's iconic "Love" statue. Some of the techniques on display look a bit off, but that's nothing that Converse's Ross couldn't iron out in an afternoon. The campaign promotes a stay at Philadelphia hotels this winter. "Love is a time-tested and effective message that travelers respond to," says Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of the GPTMC. Sure enough, the region's first tourism campaign, launched in 1997, was tagged, "Philadelphia. The place that loves you back." |
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Published on February 19, 2009 | Permalink
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Celebrate Feb. 2 with a plate of groundhog
Aw yeah, take a look at what’s about to claim a place alongside my coveted Alex Bogusky commemorative plate. This limited-edition homage to Pennsylvania's Groundhog & Shadow tourism campaign continues Red Tettemer’s impressive track record of bizarre promotional gimmicks—sausage foosball, cemetery toasters and topless staffers, just to name a few. If you weren’t one of the elite marketing bloggers to receive the groundhog plate, fear not. There’s one for sale on eBay. And judging from the fact that bidding was at $51 with eight days remaining on the auction, mine might be soon to follow. —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on January 30, 2009 | Permalink
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Las Vegas begs small-town America to visit
We never thought we'd see Las Vegas try to market itself as a non-threatening retreat for cash-strapped rural Americans, but times being what they are, the City That Never Sleeps Alone is taking a crack at it. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, with help from R&R Partners, invited all residents of Cranfills Gap, Texas, to Las Vegas for a five-day visit in mid-December. About 100 people—more than one-quarter of the Gap's residents—took them up on it. Their exploits will be YouTubed, of course, and the whole adventure has its own Web site, too, as Vegas sets out to prove that a city with no survival resources beyond tourism will thrive during a severe economic downturn. Other revitalization projects include widening the roads, because they need to be even harder to cross on foot, we guess. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on January 27, 2009 | Permalink
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Will the groundhog live to Groundhog Day?
Red Tettemer's annual Groundhog Day-themed Pennsylvania tourism spots are getting more violent with each passing year. First, it was On The Road with Punxsutawney Phil. Then it was the lamest duel ever. And this year, the damn campaign starts off with Phil getting hit by a car. While he's recuperating in a dark, isolated hospital room over at Groundhog Dreams, we the public can turn his probability of survival into a hilarious game of chance! We can also interpret his concussion-induced delirium with the help of noted specialist Squirrelmund Freud. Should he live through this year's campaign, I'm anxious to see what'll happen to Phil next year. If the Red Tettemer guys get stumped, here's some free inspiration. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on January 14, 2009 | Permalink
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Philly putting its downtown area up in lights
Philadelphia is now the "Electri-City," having achieved this dubious distinction by turning on permanent, multicolored architectural lights on 12 historic downtown buildings in the streets around City Hall. It's part of a push by the Center City District to "build downtown night-time street traffic, civic pride and add to city's cultural attractions," and includes an ad campaign by LevLane. The juice will flow all year round, from dusk until midnight. Hey, I like lights as much as the next guy, but electricity alone is unlikely to attract many visitors, who can already witness that marvel of science in Topeka, Oxnard, Walla-Walla and most other cities across this great nation. (OK, maybe not in Oxnard.) Hopefully Philadelphia consulted with an electrician, too, because if those extra watts black out the local hospitals or half of the Jersey Shore, there's going to be PR hell to pay. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on December 18, 2008 | Permalink
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Pomegranate Phone: the new iPhone killer?
To say it slices and dices might be a stretch, even for this amazing little device. No, all the Pomegranate Phone does is make coffee, project movies and business presentations in HD, and translate from any language into any other language. It's also an electric razor and a harmonica. Impressed? Well, OK, it doesn't exist. You can't have everything. But actually, in Nova Scotia you can have (mostly) everything. Yes, this is the charming non-sequitur Canadian ad campaign of the week, encouraging us all to move up north. Pretty goofy, eh, hoser? Post Advertising has more. |
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Published on November 11, 2008 | Permalink
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Utah tourism lets snowflakes do the talking
Utah is getting goofy with its tourism campaign for this winter's ski season. A bunch of new ads from the agency Struck in Salt Lake City show people dressed as snowflakes getting sent from the clouds into Utah, partying on the way down, and landing on each other on the slopes. See all five ads here. Cannibalism jokes and gay jokes keep the mood lively. And what's up with the blood and feces on the snowflakes who don't get picked in the ad above? The tagline remains, "The greatest snow on Earth." |
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Published on November 7, 2008 | Permalink
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Hogan thinks Baz's Australia ads are a croc
It seems I have an unexpected ally in my disdain for Baz Luhrmann's Australian tourism ads. As much as it pains me, I share my opinion with Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan, who claims that the ads "make the common mistake of focusing on ... beaches and the Outback," instead of more specific elements of Australian culture. It's worth noting that the former movie star and current alleged tax evader was in the wildly popular "shrimp on the barbie" ads that portrayed Australians as dim, ineloquent ruralites who nevertheless understood the finer points of relaxation. Of course, he also bagged Linda Kozlowski with that act, so maybe he was on to something. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on October 29, 2008 | Permalink
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Get lost in Australia, say Baz Luhrmann ads
The new Baz Luhrmann-directed Australia tourism ads (one above, another here) might not connect too well with an American audience. Having a naked preteen dump silt all over you in bed comes with a prison sentence here in the U.S. Still, the campaign can't do any worse than the much-panned "Where the bloody hell are you?" effort. It should get lots of press, too, as it's tied in obliquely to Luhrmann's upcoming blockbuster film Australia (here's the trailer), in which an uptight tourist played by Nicole Kidman is charmed into going native by Hugh Jackman. The ads don't feature footage from the movie, but they do relate the same kind of transformative experience that Kidman's character goes through. Given the nature of these ads, the movie looks more like a benign version of The Ring. Either way, it can't be worse than Romeo + Juliet was. |
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Published on October 8, 2008 | Permalink
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