This ad campaign will launch on Super Bowl Sunday, regional only. It will rollout during pre-game and kick-off slots on local FOX affiliates, as well as during the Los Angeles-hosted GRAMMY Awards on February 12 and Academy Awards on February 26. The :30 spot, a completely different execution, launches on February 20.
In a break with the traditional tourism advertising formula, Discover Los Angeles – the official destination marketing organization for the City of L.A. – isn’t selling the city in its latest global brand campaign, which launches this weekend in key global markets. Instead, it’s selling the feeling of the city.
The new campaign, developed by award-winning Los Angeles shop Mistress and directed by the acclaimed Floria Sigismondi, features visual metaphors that evoke the emotion of an L.A. moment. In one example, a dance troupe from the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance perform against the backdrop of a twinkling, dusky Downtown skyline view from Griffith Observatory, bringing to life the magical feeling of experiencing L.A.’s sweeping vistas.
“Following in-depth focus groups in nine of our key global markets, one point became clear: the feel of Los Angeles has an inexorable pull on visitors. They are of course interested in all of the things they can do in L.A., but first and foremost, to them, L.A. is about an ethos and a lifestyle,” said Don Skeoch, chief marketing officer for Discover Los Angeles. “We wanted to convey the experience of getting into the L.A. frame of mind and invite viewers to feel the palpable energy of the city.”
Encompassing three different executions, the campaign launches this Sunday in the United States, with a pre-game and kick-off spot during the Super Bowl, and two key international markets, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The campaign will roll-out later this year in China, Australia and Canada.
The 14-week long U.S. flight, timed to impact shoulder-season business, also includes television spots during the Los Angeles-hosted GRAMMY Awards on February 12 and Academy Awards on February 26; a four-week complete station takeover of the 14th Street/Union Square subway station in New York City (beginning February 20); digital video placements on YouTube placements and Hulu; and interactive and extensive digital and social media efforts in New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Fresno.
The station takeover in New York City includes a consumer contest where commuters are invited to snap a picture of themselves against one of the campaign’s images of a pool scene and post on Instagram using #discoverLA for a chance to win a trip for two to Los Angeles.
In 2016, Los Angeles welcomed a record-breaking 47.3 million visitors from around the globe and became the first U.S. city destination to host more than 1 million Chinese visitors.
Client: Discover Los Angeles
Agency: Mistress
Director: Floria Sigismondi
Production Company: Believe Media
Executive Producer: Jannie McInnes
Executive Producer: Liz Silver
Executive Producer: Luke Thorton
Head Of Production: Vitaly Koshman
Director Of Photography: Starr Whitesides
1St AD: Freddie Childress
Production Designer: Kristen Vallow
Stylist: Marjan Malakpour
Hair: Pamela Neal
Makeup: Mynxii White
Choreographer: Jodie Gates
Dancers: Austyn Rich, Daniel Rae Srivastava, Aiden Carberry, Jake Tribus, Trevor Daw, Adam Agostino, Paulo Hernandez-Farella, Alyssa Allen, Coco Alvarez-Mena, , Mariana Carrillo, Rebecca Troyak, Brianna Mims, Olivia Rose Euritt, Satori Folkes Stone, Megan Yamashita