January 28, 2007
WTF, TO?
Do either of these ads say "Toronto" to you?
Captions: at left, "Do you think I need a breast reduction?", at right: "Tonight I'm not Susan. Call me Antoinette."
They're the city's new "T.O. Live With Culture" ads. Made from leftover money from the Live With Culture budget, they are supposed to target American tourists: according to CTV, "the ads are destined for alternative weekly newspapers in eight U.S. border cities. Readers in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh will see them."
Unfortunately, the ads are aggressively unfunny, trying so hard to be quirky and edgy that they uh...aren't. So, what do these images say about Toronto? Well, apparently, we hate breasts, but we like...cats?
The main message of the ads is just as off as their stabs at humour. If we're serious about marketing ourselves as a world-class city, we shouldn't have to compare our art, film, or theatre to anyone elses -- especially when our films are nothing like Hollywood's, our art is nothing like Paris's, and our opera is nothing like Italy's. Maybe the posters should say "Nothing Like Paris," or "Nothing Like Hollywood," and leave it at that.
It's not all bad, though, as there is one bright spot in the campaign entirely worthy of props: the ad for New York. It's cute, funny, and is far closer to saying "Toronto" than any of the others, mocking our ultra-nice image (that may or may not be a realistic portrayal). The ad shows a man offering a spot in a taxi cab to a very pregnant woman and her partner, but the woman is shrugging and tells her partner that "To be fair, honey. He was here first." Cute. Funny. Not hilarious, but your average Buffalo reader may pause as they flip through their alt-weekly and see it. So why couldn't all the other ads have been as good as that one?
Thanks to Reading Toronto for letting us know about the ads. Ad images from CTV.ca.
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This is honestly the best they could do?
Live with culture isn't the only one that is
aggressively unfunny, trying so hard to be quirky and edgy that they uh...aren't
Zing!
That's awful. And I. Emphatically. Object. To their use of periods where colons and commas should be.
Dreadful. But I disagree about the New York ad. We're no nicer than they are. In fact, we're far colder and more aloof.
I agree about New York, mongo, but the ad does play with the (mis)conception that we are super-nice. Though a brutally honest ad campaign (with the man passive-aggressively letting the pregnant women into the cab while sneering) would've probably been kinda funny, too.
These are better than those terrible Live with Culture ones that just feature people in leotards.
These ads are embarrassing. Does this city not have an identity of it's own? Apparently not. It's time we thought about it. It's surprising that in a city with such an abundance of creative and culturally enlightened people, this is the best we could do. I think that Tourism Toronto really should be working at the grass roots level with different artistic and creative groups to forge a unique campaign for the city rather than just throwing it over a wall to an agency because it looks like we're running out of good ideas.
Ok, i have a question about "live with culture".
Is it pronounced like "i live with roommates", or like "it was a live performance"?
And, more to the point.. Personally I don't have a problem with these ads. The new york one is a bit offensive, but the rest are kinda cute.
Jeez, how many more terrible tourism-related campaigns are we going to tolerate before whoever is making these decisions gets kicked out of... wherever they work. These are bad, but they're bad in a client's-fault kind of way (we've seen how bad the city does at its own in house stuff), rather than an agency's-fault way.
Whoa, I find that breast reduction ad totally offensive. Will write a letter about it -- thanks for the heads up.
Is she thinking of reducing "a" breast?
I don't know. They are mildly amusing.
I suppose it will all depend on where these ads are directed. The article suggests that they will appear in the US cities' equivalent of weeklies like Now and Eye. If the advertising in Eye and Now are anything to go by these should fit right in with the the target market.
I think some of you are forgetting that these ads are not:
a) meant for Torontonians
b) meant to give a real idea of "what Toronto is"
What they do that is good is that they do not look and feel like a typical travel and tourism ad. They are trying something else. I'm not convinced that they won't work.
I think these ads are great and will speak well to the American audience they are intended for. They are eye catching, make you think about the ad, and make let the viewer know a little bit more about some of the things Toronto has going for it (good art, film, theatre, and opera).
The ads are self-deprecating, which helps address the stigma that Toronto is not quite a world-class city.
Odd -- all white people.
this is what happens when you let departments spend "surplus" cash on their own initiative. I think depts that save money should be rewarded but the oversight on spending surpluses must be as strict as the initial budget. (I am fighting the urge to shout "this is why property taxes go up and city services stay crap" due to the conservatism that comes with home ownership - really, I am!)
Serge #14 - that IS odd, isn't it. But then they are selling to white Americans by all appearances - don't want to spoil their preconceptions of European fur trappers and noble First Nations peoples, polar bears on Yonge Street, TTC toboggans...
The pregnant one is especially interesting given the rudeness experienced by pregnant friends of mine, especially on TTC.
Can we please get some ads that don't compare us to other cities. Geez.
The thing that bugs me is how sadly generic the ads are. They could equally read, "Baltimore. Nothing like Paris. Except for the art." The photos look like the're chosen out of some stock catalogue, and I don't see them as particularly more edgy than your standard credit card ad or feminine hygiene product campaign.
The other problem, as someone above pointed out, is the tag line. How do you pronounce "live?" Why isn't it "Alive With Culture?" Are tourists expected to know that our nickname is "T.O." or will they read it as "To live with culture?"
I can see the ad agency meeting right now over that point: But that's the beauty of it! It can be interpreted multiple ways! Americans will love it! We're brilliant! We mention boobs! Here's our invoice.
Once again, we are settling for mediocrity. We're constantly reinforcing the stereotype of ourselves, and that sucks.
"Self-Deprecating" only works if people have a friggin clue about your true personality. Your average American has NO CLUE WHATSOEVER what Toronto's like, so self-deprecation will be completely lost on them = These ad's are stupid incarnate.
I think Shawn Micallef dissed us.
I like the ads. They actually say something about the city in a slightly clever way.
Now, they're not award-winning, but they are certainly not embarrassing.
Though, I did notice that each model is white. Kinda weird coming from our city.
I don't really get these ads. None of them seem to have anything to do with film, art, theatre or opera, so I don't know why it mentions them. The Susie/Antoinette one I actually don't understand at all, and while I can see what the joke is supposed to be about in the breast reduction one, the fact that the woman has relatively small breasts to begin with just makes it creepy - do Torontonians tend to have body dysmorphic disorder? I would find it much less problematic if they had used a large-breasted woman, although I still don't see how breast reduction surgery is going to bring in the tourists.
The ads are too overt using the word "culture". If we were living with culture, wouldn't other cities have taken notice? Ideally, the imagery would be a lot more creative, actually giving the impression of something exciting and unique. This reminds me of the Hyundai/Kia advertisements that attempt to put the cars on the same level as Mercedes and BMW, then claim to have a better warranty/lower price. I laugh at those because they're pathetic.
Each has some humour I can appreciate -- her breasts are already small, her maid outfit isn't at all sexy, etc -- but the messaging doesn't make sense to me.
these are horrible, completely irrelevant. any city promo ad that mentions another city is completely lost. these campaigns for 'world-class' cities are some sort of canadian meme gone bad. these make me want to leave the city rather than visit or take part in anything called 'live with culture' - which again is a lost sort of statement. live with culture? ...everyone lives with culture. it just depends on what style and these things indicate -no style- and -no class-
All very lame, including the NYC Ad. Generally, I find Toronto much less friendly than NYC. I agree with the comments above, why not just sell the city for what it is and not compare ourselves to other cities all the time. Toronto is nothing like Paris, New York or any other city and nor should or could it be.
I agree with the person above - Toronto is MUCH less friendlier than NYC.
I agree as well with the two people above, as well as some of the other comments. Toronto has become alot less friendly than a city like NY, but we really do have alot of great art and culture, and this is not the way to promote it at all. Instead of being negative, self-deprecating or trying to be quirky and funny, there is alot of really really interesting imagery in this city that is striking and would certainly catch a viewers attention.
If these were ads for another city, it wouldn't interest me enough to bother visiting that city. For instance pretend that it was an ad for Vancouver or Montreal....hmm, kind of boring I think.
The Live With Culture ads are an utter embarrasment. They are absolutely idiotic. And the banners are still up all around the entire city even though they say "Live With Culture 05/06" and it is now June 2007. Hello Marketing Dept at City Hall. Wakey Wakey. Whoever was in charge of that campaign is simply incompetent and asleep at the wheel.
And the other ads are ridiculous too. I cringe whenever I see them.
Hopefully David Whitaker, the new President and CEO of Tourism Toronto, will rectify this and we won't see any more of these idiotic ads.
He was an influential leader in transforming Miami’s global image over the past decade to become a premiere leisure and business travel destination. Here's hoping he can do the same for Toronto.
And yes Toronto is in no way a friendly city.
Torontonians are polite but they are not engaging, outgoing or friendly. People here are cold and sterile.
Go to Manhattan if you want to meet warm, friendly, outgoing, generous people. I LOVE NY!!
I LOVE NY.
Now THAT is a great slogan. It's a city you can't help but fall in love with.