An interesting topic of conversation among Canadians from East to West has always been, where is the best place to visit and spend those hard-earned tourism dollars?
Considered a trivial question to some, this topic has been water cooler conversation for generations. Ex-Torontonians living in BC will be the first to tell you why Toronto is so sweet to visit, Saskatchewanians are just plain proud of…well Saskatchewan. BC residents modestly feel they don’t need to boast, as they are reminded everyday of being selected as the official host of the 2010 Winter Olympics (an event that only makes its way to Canada every 25 years or so). So to ensure some attention is drawn East when the world’s spotlight is on Canada’s West Coast during the Olympics, Eastern Canadians have put together quite an enticing ad campaign to sway the hearts and minds of visitors. And what does it showcase you may ask? The answer – Newfoundland and Labrador. Yes, you read correctly. This hidden gem of Canada has a population of 510,000 people, 373, 872 kms of land mass and GDP of $31 billion dollars (all according to our trusty sources at Wikipedia).
This sweet spot is being pinned up against Vancouver just in time for the Olympics using beautiful TV commercials running all over Canada and beyond. Although you may first mistake the commercial for tourism in Ireland or Greece, don’t be fooled! We have actually confirmed that this TV spot is entirely shot in Newfoundland and Labrador. Check out the tourism commercial below:
Ironically enough, around the same time Tourism BC has answered with a pretty nice advertising rebuttal of their own, the theme being, “It’s beautiful here AND we have celebrities – do you?” See below:
After seeing both ads, we couldn’t decide on the best tourism campaign. So what better way to decide then to pin it on our readers: watch both Youtube clips and let us know who will win the hearts and dollars of tourists visiting Canada. Is it the Easy-East Coast of Newfoundland, or the Best of the West Coast in BC? Vote on it using our poll below and lend us your comments on the subject if you feel so inclined; we’d love to hear from you!
I voted for BC because they seem to have more going on in their advertisement. BUT if that is what the east coast actually looks like I guess I should book my vacation soon !
BC all the way!!! Although I’m born and raised in Victoria, so I might be a little bit biased… However, I actually thought that the Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism commercial was a bit slow and boring at times (even tough the images were absolutely beautiful!) The BC commercial shows how much our province has to offer from snow capped mountains, sandy beaches and green parks. I guess that’s why I’m a BC girl!
As much as I think the Tourism Newfoundland commercial is a better ad, I kinda felt deceived as it looked someplace tropical. At least the BC commercial looked authentically West Coast. I don’t know maybe that’s just me?