Contemplating A Brave New World For Tourism
Hope burns eternal, that the travel and tourism industry, after barely flickering in the blustery wind of change wrought by the pandemic, will experience an upsurge of brighter fortunes.
Several countries have embarked on optimistic tourism advertising campaigns over the past year and a half, with creative initiatives and alluring commercials.
1. Morocco, Kingdom of Light
Advertising Agency: BETC, Paris, France
Production Company: Solab, Paris, France
BETC’s Visit Morocco campaign, for Marocain du Tourisme, features a captivating commercial directed by London filmmaker and artist, Georgia Hudson.
The filmic ‘Kingdom of Light’ scenario, encapsulates the unique sensory attributes that await to be unforgettably savoured in Morocco’s spirited and modern-day vibrancy.
Life-time experiences of promise include its eternal geographical beauty, the inspirational quality of its North African light, the culturally diverse influences of its illustrious craftsmanship of art and architecture, and its celebrated cuisine.
2. Switzerland’s Grand Tour, Not To Be Upstaged
Advertising Agency: Wirz BBDO, Zurich, Switzerland
Production Company: Hungry Man, New York, USA
Swiss Tourism’s ‘No Drama’ commercial with Roger Federer, and Robert De Niro, was rated as one of the world’s ten most successful commercials of 2021.
This year’s commercial, directed by renowned filmmaker Bryan Buckley, features Swiss Brand Ambassador Roger Federer accompanied by celebrated actress Anne Hathaway.
Viewing the final edit of their road trip to the Alps, Roger and Anne notice with indignation, that there is not a glimpse to be seen of their identifying starring roles.
The humorously penned conversation about being upstaged by the majestic scenery of Switzerland, is highly entertaining.
3. Icelandic Tourism, The Icelandverse
Advertising Agency: SS+K (Stern, Shepardson & Kaminsky), New York, USA
‘Icelandverse’, directed by filmmaker Allan Sigurðsson, is an entertaining parody of Mark Zuckerberg’s introduction of Meta and its ‘Metaverse’ where he claimed;
“You’re going to be able to do almost anything you can imagine”.
Featuring a Zuckerberg lookalike named Zack Mossbergsson, as Iceland’s chief visionary officer, the ‘Metaverse’ send-up, opens with the message;
“Hi and welcome to this very natural setting. Today I’d like to talk about a revolutionary approach on how to connect our world without being super weird. Icelandverse is enhanced actual reality, without silly looking headsets”.
A scene of Mossbergsson in a pool wearing much too much sunscreen, is an amusing reference to a viral video-clip showing Mark Zuckerberg surfing in Hawaii, with his face covered with so much sun-block, that it looks like he’s wearing a Halloween mask.
The creatively conceived ‘Icelandverse’ scenario, is a humorously parodying approach to tourism-genre advertising communication.
4. Dubai Tourism, A Romance To Remember
Advertising Agency: Mother, London, UK
Mother London’s global promotional campaign, for the city of Dubai, that is also an Emirate, and one of the seven United Arab Emirate territories ruled by an Emir or ‘Prince’, stars Jessica Alba, and Zac Efron, in a series of cinematic encounters.
The Department of Tourism’s ‘Dubai Presents’ campaign, features faux movie-trailers, covering different film genres, that dramatises the starring duo’s engaging escapades across the city’s impressive sites, and its variety of scenic destinations that are on offer for tourists to create their own travel adventures.
‘In A Romance To Remember’, an amusing mix-up of Jessica Alba’s and Zac Efron’s identical looking travel-cases at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport, results in a series of follow-up events and a romantic liaison.
5. Dubai Tourism, A Five-Star Mission
Advertising Agency: Mother, London, UK
In this ‘Dubai Presents’ movie-trailer, Jessica Alba, and Zac Efron, are featured in a spy-genre scenario, of thrilling action-packed encounters across the city’s many scenic locations, and famous architectural landmarks.
6. Dubai Tourism, A Captivating Saga
Advertising Agency: Mother, London, UK
The ‘Captivating Saga’ movie-trailer, presents Jessica Alba, and Zac Efron, in a cinematic period drama of the 1950’s, featuring some of Dubai’s most impressive sites and desert landscapes.