# Toronto Tourism Ads Edgy? Um, . . . . not quite! By Ad Judge | Published 2007-01-26 | World Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/toronto-tourism-ads-edgy-um-not-quite References: [thestar](http://www.thestar.com/News/article/175183) & [thestar](http://www.thestar.com/photoGallery/175139) According to the [Toronto Star](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fancreated-ads), Toronto's Live With Culture campaign has developed and "placed a series of four ads in [alternative weeklies](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mini-media) in eight U.S. border cities: Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca, N.Y., Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh." These [tourism ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/saudi-tourism) are dubbed as being edgier and more risque than the usual fodder put out by large cities, but in this humble resident's opinion, they're about as vanilla as they come. With tourism in Toronto still rebounding to some extent after the recent SARS crisis, as well as the recently implemented passport regulations, a more concerted effort by the city's various marketing bodies is certainly warranted. According to Program Manager, Gregory Nixon, "People thought Toronto was clean and safe but not particularly sexy. It didn't have much of an edge about it. It was kind of a lukewarm response. And that's not really going to get people driving across the border." Although Gregory had the right idea, he came up woefully short in the delivery. With tourism and destination advertising across North America growing increasingly competitive, I would look for the marketing campaigns to accordingly grow sexier, edgier, and more provacative. But if Toronto is any indication, it might just happen a little slower than expected. View the article in the first link, and check out the new adds in the second. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.7/10 - Popularity: 81% | Activity: 81% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [World](https://www.trendhunter.com/world) > [Travel](https://www.trendhunter.com/travel) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Sexier Tourism Marketing:** Opportunity for cities to create provocative and attention-grabbing tourism ads to attract more visitors. - **Edgier Destination Advertising:** The rise of more daring and unconventional marketing campaigns to stand out in the competitive destination advertising landscape. - **Growing Competitiveness in Tourism Advertising:** Increasing competition driving the need for cities to innovate and differentiate their marketing strategies. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Tourism:** The tourism industry can adopt disruptive advertising techniques to capture the attention of potential visitors. - **Destination Advertising:** Companies in the destination advertising industry can explore new and unconventional approaches to marketing their clients. - **Marketing and Advertising:** The marketing and advertising industry must adapt to the growing demand for sexier and more provocative campaigns. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Unique City-Based Culinary Tours](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tasty-tours.md) - [Canadian Tourism Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/caleb-simpson.md) - [Civic-Led Buy Local Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/love-local.md) - [User-Generated Toronto Baseball Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fancreated-ads.md) - [Toronto Neighborhood Expansions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/spatial-media.md) - [New Yorker-Approved Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/new-yorks-streeteasy.md) - [Timely Delivery-Centric Billboards](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/pizza-pizza-4.md) - [Film-Inspired Hotel Offerings](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/eat-play-love-campaign.md) - [Canadian-Focused Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/look-for-the-leaf.md)