Fortunately, creative agencies still have a few tricks in their back pockets. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any shortage of creative ideas, which is why we can have fun with ads that go beyond our imagination.
What makes a good tourism advertisement?
Travel advertising is about inspiring and motivating people to explore the world. Effective TV advertising can not only showcase a destination and entice travellers looking for adventure, relaxation, or new experiences but also foster brand loyalty.
One of the main factors that characterise quality tourism advertising is the use of quality visual materials. Travel destination advertising usually relies heavily on visual aspects. Therefore, it is advisable to use high-resolution visuals.
Equally important is emotional resonance. Advertising that evokes feelings of excitement, calm, or adventure can stir our inner self. Imagine watching a commercial and being transported in your mind to a white sand beach or a mountain cabin with a fire crackling in the fireplace.
As with other types of advertising, compelling stories work in the travel industry. People don’t just buy tours. They buy emotions, memories, and adventures.
With a huge number of destinations vying for clients, quality advertising cannot do without original, highly creative workmanship. An invitation to a faraway destination doesn’t have to be just a bunch of beautiful landscape shots.
Let’s take a look at some of the original ads for tourist destinations.
Australia and Crocodile Dundee
During Super Bowl 2018, Tourism Australia launched the “Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home” campaign. Starring Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride, the campaign poked fun at Australian stereotypes and the idea of a sequel to Crocodile Dundee.
The ad was part of a marketing campaign aimed at promoting travel in Australia. It effectively showcased the country’s stunning landscapes, wildlife, and laid-back atmosphere. It generated widespread interest and discussion and remained on trend even after the Super Bowl. It’s clear that it pays to try novel, creative tactics and deviate from established templates.
The creatives got a great deal out of the involvement of Chris Hemsworth, who added star power to the campaign. Danny McBride as Dundee was really funny. And the cameo appearance of the original Dundee, Paul Hogan, was perfect.
Video: Tourism Australia – Dundee (Super Bowl)
Tourism Australia has more great ads on stock. They certainly include the 2022 animated short film G’day, starring a kangaroo and a unicorn who meet in a gift shop on the Great Barrier Reef. Kangaroo takes Unicorn on an amazing adventure around Australia. Together they visit iconic places, including Melbourne’s backstreets and stunning natural scenery such as Nitmiluk Gorge, and learn about Aboriginal cultures.
Oregon and revived childhood dreams
All the ads kind of exaggerate. And it is this element that Oregon’s tourism headquarters, Travel Oregon, purposefully used in its “Only Slightly Exaggerated” campaign to portray Oregon as a unique, dreamy, cartoonish destination. The animated ad shows that Oregon’s mountains are more magical than anywhere else, its rivers hold secrets never before seen, and its streets offer entertainment like nowhere else. The perfect embodiment of childhood dreams:
Video: Travel Oregon – Only Slightly (More) Exaggerated
Switzerland and celebrity actors
Switzerland Tourism, the official Swiss national tourist office, traditionally relies on celebrities. Of course, many other companies and brands use the same practice. Yet the “No Drama” advert featuring tennis player Roger Federer and Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro stands out. In the spot produced by Swiss advertising agency Wirz BBDO, Federer convinces De Niro to participate in his film project in Switzerland. De Niro refuses to star in Federer’s project because in Switzerland, there is “no drama” for him. The ad ends humorously. “Maybe call Hanks,” says De Niro who has definitely decided not to film. “Who?” Federer retorts, uncomprehendingly.
Video: Switzerland Tourism – No Drama
Switzerland Tourism’s other advertisements are in a similar vein. Worth mentioning is, for example, the ad No one upstages the Grand Tour of Switzerland starring Anne Hathaway and (again) the familiar ambassador Roger Federer.
Sweden and mysticism
An invitation to a tourist destination does not have to be limited to shots of national monuments and landscapes, although it is also an option, of course. Fans of horror and mysticism will be delighted with the Swedish ad. The Spellbound (2023) ad campaign invites mystery lovers to Sweden to explore the beautiful countryside while enjoying the unique experience of listening to a chilling audio story. The campaign was set up so that the Spotify playlist was only made available to visitors upon arrival at a specific location. Thus, they had to visit the location to get a memorable and terrifying experience.
Video: Spellbound by Sweden
Vienna and boundless originality
Where else can a hungry, unhappy belly indulge in the beauty of life than in Vienna? In this creative, surreal spot, a lonely, disillusioned belly walks the streets of Vienna, trying to forget a loved one who never cared about him, and shows what tourists can see and enjoy on their next visit to the city. Truly original!
Video: What does a Belly do in Vienna?
Oslo and dry humour
A hilarious new “anti-ad” describing the city through the eyes of a grumpy Norwegian is being hailed as perhaps the best-ever ad from the tourism industry. The dry humour is truly disarming. You learn that Oslo is more of a village, with no queues for restaurants. “I wouldn’t come here, to be honest,” says Halfdan, a thirty-something Oslo resident, in the spot as he walks around his hometown trying to discover its appeal. “Is it even a city?” He describes all the city’s advantages in a disappointed, literally annoyed tone. In front of Norway’s most famous painting, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, he shrugs and remarks that it’s “not exactly the Mona Lisa.” He wonders aloud if it is even worth going to a gallery when you don’t have to stand in line for at least a couple of hours to get in.
Visit Oslo marketing director, Anne-Signe Fagereng, is behind the brilliant ad, which was released in July 2024. She wanted to do something different. “We wanted to try to use our position as an underdog in terms of European city breaks,” she said. “Oslo is kind of the unknown brother of Stockholm and Copenhagen, and we wanted to make sure the world caught up to what’s been going on in the city in the last 20 years.”
Video: Visit Oslo – Is it even a city?
Fiji and the atmosphere of happiness
Have you ever felt so happy you wanted to burst into song? That’s the idea behind the beautiful campaign created by Saatchi & Saatchi, New Zealand, for Tourism Fiji. The marketing message is: “You will when you visit Fiji. Everywhere you go in Fiji, across all the islands, you will hear the sounds of pure happiness.”
Video: Fiji Singing Bula
Milan and Santa Claus in a tuxedo at the opera
Milano & Partners, the official promotion agency of the City of Milan, came up with a Christmas advert in 2021 with the message “This Christmas season, fly to Milan with Santa Claus and take your time to live all the magical experiences of the city”. The ad showcases the distinctive elements of Milan, which presents itself as a destination that offers unique access to a world of style and taste. Santa Claus has the opportunity to visit the oldest shopping gallery in the world – Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, discover the Pinacoteca di Brera gallery, taste panettone (Italian sweet bread) in a typical Milanese trattoria, have fun in a club, and then dress up in a tuxedo to see Macbeth at La Scala in Milan. In the end, Santa Claus takes the Milan tram up into the clouds towards the North Pole, just in time to deliver presents to children around the world.
Video: Milan. It changes more than just your look.
Dubai and action film
Dubai Tourism decided to make the ad an action film. “A Riveting Mystery” stars Zac Efron and Jessica Alba as they embark on an adrenaline-fuelled journey through Dubai.
Video: Dubai – A Riveting Mystery
Czechia and Christmas magic
There is no better place to spend Christmas than the Czech Republic. This is the main message of the ad, celebrating our beautiful country and the magic it offers during the holidays. It is beautiful proof that Czech advertising can be one of the most impressive tourism advertisements:
Video: Christmas season in the Czech Republic
Leavenworth and Oktoberfest in hip-hop rhythm
We will end our selection of interesting invitations to tourist destinations with an ad that deserves to be called “the weirdest”. And even that may be an understatement. Get ready for dancers in slightly modified Bavarian costumes, belly dancing to the rhythm of hip-hop, the traditional German Nutcracker and, of course, beer flowing. The city of Leavenworth, which is the subject of the invitation, is not in Bavaria but in Washington State, USA. However, the entire downtown area is designed to resemble a German Bavarian village, which is the result of a civic initiative that began in the 1960s. The advertising would fit the bill. But who knows what the people of Bavaria would think of this spot.
Video: Visit Leavenworth
