Monday, August 6, 2012

Virginia for lovers ad


I ran across this ad when reading through Backpacker magazine over the weekend. I love Backpacker magazine and usually find their ads very relevant and well crafted. However, this ad makes me stop and think... why is Virginia for lovers???

I realize they are attempting a rebranding effort here. Trying to encourage more tourism to Virginia. However, besides a couple hiking together, there is no indication about why Virginia is for lovers and other states are not. What specifically would attract you to Virginia rather than say, Alaska where hiking is very well known? I'd be very curious to learn about any concept or copy testing the Virginia department of tourism did on these ads before running them.

For all those marketing nerds wanting to learn a tidbit today - this ad falls under a type of advertising known as transformational advertising. The ad is trying to transform commonly held perceptions of Virginia. Though, obviously, this is not a great example of transformational advertising. Have your thoughts been changed?


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