After months without an advertising campaign in the U.S. and during one of the most difficult periods for Mexico's tourism industry, the Mexico Tourism Board has launched TV and print ads in the U.S. and Canada.
The TV spots, designed by JWT, carry a new MTB message and tagline "Mexico, The Place You Thought You Knew" and emphasize new Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara's initiative to show cultural and natural destinations in Mexico that are unfamiliar to many Americans, while also displaying the sun-and-sand spots that many American travelers already know and love.
Print and TV ads will run through November in magazines and on cable TV channels. One print ad features a view of a hilltop church in Cholula, in the central Mexican state of Puebla, with copy that reads, "The biggest pyramid in the world? With a church on top?" Another includes a close-up view of a monarch butterfly in the central Mexican state of Michoacan with text that reads, "A place so magical they fly 3,000 miles just to get there. Each year."
The TV ads portray Mexico vacations as enhancing relationships with friends and family and rejuvenating travelers. One spot depicts a group of friends visiting cultural and natural attractions in and near the Mexican colonial town of San Luis Potosi.
The MTB did not release spending figures but said its investment in its North American campaign is 30% above what it spent in 2008, its baseline year. The aim is to target 50% of the North American population, with the goal of generating more than three impressions per person.
The MTB said its research found Mexico's best traveler prospects to be individuals ages 35 to 65 years old with annual incomes above $75,000 and who see vacations as a way to bond with family and friends. They describe themselves as open to exploring new and different travel experiences.
In preparing the campaign, focus groups were conducted in four cities in the U.S. and three in Canada.
"We know that people's lives are incredibly hectic, and vacations are an increasingly important way for them to physically and spiritually rejuvenate," said Guevara, in a statement. "We feel this campaign will do a spectacular job of communicating the lesser-known ways travelers can explore Mexico, and then return home a different person than when they left."