Believe it or not, I was wrong. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post called “The best thing to come out of an ashcloud” about a game by Miniclip.com, but I might have been a bit premature. DMO Visit Iceland along with the Icelandic government have created one of my favorite campaigns to date, “Inspired by Iceland“.
The campaign doesn’t actually have anything to do with the ashcloud, but with all the attention being given to Iceland (Positive or negative) the timing couldn’t be better. The concept is fairly simple, let the 350 000 Icelanders tell the world why it’s such a great place to visit through pictures, video and text.
This may sound very similar to Australia’s “Nothing like it” campaign, but the delivery is quite different. The celebrity endorsement videos are actually entertaining, each one painting a different picture of the country, something I feel “Nothing like it” failed to do. It’s not just icy mountains and rolling plaines, there’s art, music and modern culture.
This matchup is a real classic; Australia with it’s perfect beaches and unique wildlife vs. Iceland with mountains and cold tundras. When you don’t have the looks, you have to be interesting and Iceland have done a fantastic job showing the world how interesting they are. I don’t know about you, but it definitely worked for me- I’m planning a trip to Iceland!
I think that would be fair to say as well! Until you mentioned it, I thought the guy at the start WAS Matt, but I think it's a copy. Nevertheless, I think it still beats the pants off the Australian one and the Celebrity videos are pretty cool too.
I guess the main thing is, they showed a pretty rounded view of what they're all about, something I wish Australia had done.
We just looked up tickets to Iceland! hahaha, it was the music that did it for me
grayum_ian
Yeah, it just looks so natural and fun. Also check this one out: http://vimeo.com/4943150 pretty cool video as well.
Wouldn't it be somewhat cheap for you to go there?
http://twitter.com/aussie_ian Ian C
“Nevertheless, I think it still beats the pants off the Australian one and the Celebrity videos are pretty cool too.”
^ I question if you can be objective in comparing the two videos, given you live in Australia! The grass is always greener remember!
It would be interesting if you could get a response from Icelanders and what they feel of the ad (and if they like the Australian one).
grayum_ian
I might take you up on that challenge! what do I get if I'm right? And I don't just live in Australia, I AM Australian now!
http://twitter.com/aussie_ian Ian C
If you can objectively (without influencing) poll those in Iceland (or actually in another country) about what video they prefer, and you're correct – then you win the prize of validating your argument
Actually inspired by “Inspired by Iceland” campaign
The campaign doesn’t actually have anything to do with the ashcloud, but with all the attention being given to Iceland (Positive or negative) the timing couldn’t be better. The concept is fairly simple, let the 350 000 Icelanders tell the world why it’s such a great place to visit through pictures, video and text.
This may sound very similar to Australia’s “Nothing like it” campaign, but the delivery is quite different. The celebrity endorsement videos are actually entertaining, each one painting a different picture of the country, something I feel “Nothing like it” failed to do. It’s not just icy mountains and rolling plaines, there’s art, music and modern culture.
Have a look and compare the two yourself:
Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.
This matchup is a real classic; Australia with it’s perfect beaches and unique wildlife vs. Iceland with mountains and cold tundras. When you don’t have the looks, you have to be interesting and Iceland have done a fantastic job showing the world how interesting they are. I don’t know about you, but it definitely worked for me- I’m planning a trip to Iceland!