Brand America Ad Entices Tourists To Come And Find Their Land Of Dreams

To encapsulate America in a 60 second spot is indeed a formidable task, for the U.S. is not just a world superpower but a huge tourism brand. However, J. Walter Thomson, the agency that made this video, has managed to do the seemingly impossible.

International tourists spent almost $153 billion in the country every year, which is double of what they spent in the second most popular international destination – Spain. It is estimated that 62 million international travellers visited the U.S. in 2011. The ad is set to an original composition, “Land Of Dreams” by Rosanne Cash, Grammy award winner,songwriter and daughter of the legendary Johnny Cash. The ad showcases around 25 contrasting but highly scenic locations across America. The aim of the video is to present the multi-faceted, multi-cultural nature of USA.

In the video Rosanne Cash is surrounded by musicians from a wide range of musical cultures across the world. All of them are accompanying her playing instruments specific to their type of music. The spot is beautifully filmed and the hauntingly beautiful songs, with lyrics that go, “There’s a place for all you feel, It’s closer than it seems, Come and find your land of dreams,” adds to its beauty and magnificence.

The song throws open an invitation to people across the world, to come and visit the US and experience its rich diversity and unparalleled beauty. The spot concludes with the tagline: “Discover this land, like never before.”

Jim Evans, CEO of Brand USA, said that the ad was to address the waning popularity of tourism to thecountry, , fuelled by the currentsecurity and immigration policies that made people feel that the U.S. was “less welcoming to tourists. We knew we had to change people’s opinions. It’s critical we show the U.S. as a nation of freedom, diversity and a lot of fun.”

JWT said that they had planned to project the positive side of the country, by highlighting the perceptions people have of this country. They said that they took precautions to ensure that no negative perception of the country was reflected in the advertisement. The things that tourists to the country love about it, ‘its diversity, its pop-culture, optimistic spirit and larger-than-life presence,’ formed the platform on which the ad was based.

JWT CEO Bob Jeffrey said, “For more than 200 years, people have been coming to America, but we have never officially invited the world to visit. We developed a powerful message that taps into people’s emotions, reminding them what they love most about America … and inviting them to see it, hear it and feel it in a new way.”

The marketing ad campaign cost $12.3 million and was produced for Brand USA, a public-private partnership between the travel industry and the U.S. government, established by the Congress in 2010, for the precise purpose of increasing international visits to the U.S.

Brand USA’s Chairman of the Board, Stephen J. Cloobeck, said that most countries promoted their tourism potential to boost tourism in their country and that it was high time ..did the same.

“Other countries around the world have prioritised tourism efforts for years, yet in the 236 years since the United States of America was founded, this country has never had a nationally coordinated effort dedicated to inviting travellers to come visit us. That changes today.  This new campaign will tap into an incredibly valuable economic resource – the millions of visitors who want to experience all that our great country has to offer.”