As I tried to catch some shut-eye at Chicago O’Hare yesterday, I kept hearing Indian music playing in the background and finally tracked down the source. This very slick ad for Indian tourism is running endlessly on CNN’s airport network. It’s part of the Incredible !ndia campaign, which used to be Incredibly L^me.
I agree with this critique:
Not bad but they need to do a few more urban-themed things… they all seem to focus on rural women spinning around with pots on their heads… There’s nothing wrong with pushing our history (indeed it is a big tourist draw), but by dropping in some stuff from modern India we can really change people’s perceptions. Remember, this is a bit like what Japan did with its Shinkanshens… India must be marketed as a nation where futurism runs alongside tradition. [Link]
The Turkey Welcomes You campaign shows off a modern subway system (watch clip), though it uses a lot of cheesy, Daler Mehndi-esque, gratuitous greenscreen.
Here are some of the ‘05 print ads. Again, the newer ads are more visually interesting than the flat, hackneyed ones from years past:
They really need to get off the Taj kick. I’m sure France tourism features much more than the Eiffel Tower. Interestingly, the government of India is spending cold, hard cash to push the same visual shorthand I rail against in book marketing:
But this is just tourism; good literature is not.
Related post: Brown takes over Davos
