Travel Oregon unveils $5 million animated tourism campaign, showcasing state's great outdoors

Travel Oregon is trying something different with its latest tourism campaign.

The state's tourism bureau rolled out a quirky animated video Monday designed to 'evoke the magical feeling of being in Oregon.'

The video, which showcases surrealist images such as a caterpillar riding a bike, will play on television and online in Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and Phoenix.

It's all part of $5 million campaign designed to stick out from the typical tourism shtick of grand vistas and scenic photography.

The campaign represents a stark departure from the agency's best-known marketing campaign, the '7 Wonders of Oregon,' which debuted in 2014.

That campaign, which highlighted video and pictures of iconic places such as Crater Lake, was seen as a huge success and credited for boosting a tourism industry that generates $11.3 billion in visitor spending.

But Travel Oregon director of global communications Linea Gagliano said that as the '7 wonders' model was replicated by other states, the agency decided to try new ways to stand out.

Gagliano said Travel Oregon marketing has a track record of paying off, pointing to a 2013 Ad Accountability Study by Longwoods International that found that for every $1 invested in Travel Oregon's marketing campaigns, the state saw a return of $237 and $11 in taxes.

 

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