Travel Ads « O' Canada

Temperatures this far south, as well as the extreme cold gripping much of eastern Canada this week, leave no doubt that we’re deep in the heart of winter. Because of this, my thoughts turn toward skiing, ice skating, hockey and other winter recreations and the many places above the 49th parallel — among them Banff, Quebec, Whistler, the Laurentians and Jasper — that are popular destinations for cold weather and snowy pastimes. So, I thought I’d share some retro travel ads and posters touting these places and this season’s activities. Many of these are from the Canadian Pacific Railway, which engaged in a wide range of travel promotions for locations throughout Canada (and beyond). The vivid graphics work their magic by conveying visions of boundless wintry pleasures. Among the more distinctive of these works are those by Peter Ewart and Roger Couillard, two of the more notable artists commissioned for their attractive illustrations. More Canadian Pacific travel posters may be seen here on an earlier O’Canada Blog post.

Image Credits: Library and Archives Canada; Canadian Pacific Railway Archives

At the beginning of June, I noticed two full back-to-back pages of travel-related ads in The New York Times. It stood out both because of the dense ad compilation and the fact that each of the ads was laid out as a sort of website screenshot including various social media links and references to comments, uploads, albums and the like. I thought how cool that these Canadian organizations, including Tourism Toronto, Rail Canada, Canada.travel and Air Canada, among others, obviously banded together to make a more impactful impression. I intended to comment on that before now but this past month has been unusually busy personally and professionally so I clipped the ads and set them aside for later comment (which is now!).

So, how much cooler is it that something similar but even more ambitious has been done with the June 28, 2010 issue of The New Yorker. When I saw the ad on the inside cover (above) I was happy to see such a nicely laid out and to the point ad on Canada. As I thumbed through the issue one after another distinctive maple leafs made it unmistakable that something was up with this issue. Other than customary adverts for The New Yorker itself, every single ad was from a Canadian agency, province, business or institution. In the online interactive edition there are also embedded videos that add to the message.

I’ve been a subscriber to this publication for over 20 years and the only other time I recall a similar campaign was when Target, the department store, took over every ad page and scattered its target logo throughout the magazine. I’m sure the reason it’s not done more often is that it takes a good deal of expense and coordination, but that also makes it stand out all the more. Bravo, Canada!

My fave is the fun “Bring Your Boots” ad by Alberta.