The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, has initiated its second push of its advertising campaign, Extraordinary is Ordinary. Promoting the state’s stunning natural beauty, the campaign is set to drive tourism to its seven geographical regions and help to continue the state’s recovery from the pandemic while supporting shoulder season travel. The campaign, produced by the creative team at Portland’s Wieden + Kennedy, kicked off with national broadcast commercials and global exposure during the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 this past July. The strategy behind the fall campaign is to re-engage with the audiences reached this summer and invite them to visit during shoulder season.
“Oregon is a state where you can feel and experience things you can’t anywhere else,” said Todd Davidson, Travel Oregon CEO. “It’s a place where beauty is commonplace and even the most ordinary things provide magical experiences. The campaign is designed to inspire travel during the fall and winter season — a traditionally lesser traveled time — and future travel being planned for next spring and summer.”
Creative for the campaign extends to every corner of the state and reminds visitors and residents alike of all that is extraordinary in Oregon with a whimsical take on three ubiquitous elements: rocks, water and soil. The video campaign combines live-action footage of real places and people with mixed media settings, as well as innovative animation techniques such as puppetry, Claymation and stop-motion. The digitally painted sets — called “matte paintings” in TV/film productions — were created by internationally recognized artist Simone De Salvatore, whose work has been featured in shows like Game of Thrones and in Wes Anderson films like Grand Budapest Hotel.
Homegrown brands are represented in several of the scenes including Trew Gear, Columbia Sportswear and Pendleton. The bowl of ramen is based on the signature dish at Portland’s Afuri restaurant, and the beer is an actual beer from Beaverton’s Great Notion Brewing, called Ripe, a hazy IPA. The full list of real-life locations featured in the campaign include:
ROCKS
- Paulina Peak
- Timberline Lodge
- Hood and Mt. Jefferson, as well two of the three peaks of the Three Sisters
- Sumpter Valley Railroad
- Blue Basin and John Day Fossil Beds
WATER
- Crater Lake
- Clear Lake
- Rogue River
- Willamette Valley
- Portland bridges and Portland Oregon Sign
- Afuri
- Great Notion
- Portland Spirit
- Dragon Boats
SOIL
- Detering Orchard
- Le Mera Gardens
- Analemma Farms
- Columbia River Gorge
- Carman Ranch
- Wallowa Mountains
- Marys Peak
“There’s not a day that goes by that we aren’t mesmerized and caused to become deeply curious about the land that we farm and the landscape we live in,” said Kris Fade, co-owner of Analemma Wines. “How the vines grow in this incredible environment is a story we tell our guests every day, and one that Travel Oregon’s “Extraordinary is Ordinary” campaign captures the essence of perfectly.”
Take a look at the Extraordinary is Ordinary Toolkit and a behind the scenes glimpse of how the campaign was made.
About Travel Oregon:
The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, is a semi-independent state agency whose mission is to inspire travel that uplifts Oregon communities. Collaborating with stakeholders to align as stewards of Oregon, we work to optimize economic opportunity, advance equity and respect the ecosystems, cultures and places that make Oregon… Oregon. Travel Oregon aims to improve Oregonians’ quality of life by strengthening the economic impacts of the state’s $10.9 billion tourism industry, which employs more than 100,000 Oregonians.
