Creative Director’s Choice gives creative directors a chance to highlight the work they think is the best out in the ad world — the ads and campaigns they believe are making a difference.
This week, Matt Moore, chief creative officer of OH Partners, talks about sense of escape Wieden+Kennedy’s ‘Only Slightly Exaggerated’ and 'Only Slightly (More) Exaggerated' campaigns gives the viewer.
I can hardly count the number of 3am alarm clocks that have dragged me out of bed to capture that perfect sunrise, or the countless miles I’ve hiked with camera and drone gear on my back to get an iconic shot. Travel and tourism advertising can take a toll on your sleep and your body... but it’s so worth it, right?
Maybe that’s partly why I’m so drawn to Wieden+Kennedy’s ‘Only Slightly Exaggerated’ campaign for Travel Oregon. This campaign takes the viewer on a daring departure from the normal scenic highlight reel and transports them on a stunning illustrated journey all across the “photo around every bend” mecca of Oregon.
In this campaign, W+K created a series of magical narratives that feature an array of mystical creatures that include towering cloud giants, bike-riding caterpillars, sun-bathing mushrooms and so many more.
I love W+K’s bold decision to use paintbrush, illustration and computer graphics instead of a camera to provide this unique view of the destination in a beautiful storybook-like world that takes you away from the practical “if I stand there I will see this.” The campaign transports you to a world of “this is what you will feel when you arrive.” Luckily, Oregon is certainly a destination that can deliver on the imaginary world that is being dreamed up right in front of you.
As we’ve also learned, one of the downsides of destination marketing is people wanting to recreate the exact spot where the advertising images were taken – and not stopping or staying on trails until they find it. In Oregon they can just simply close their eyes and their stories can come alive.
I can almost guarantee that there were plenty of people still waking up at 3am to work on this project, but as beautiful as it is, they probably didn’t mind at all.
Matt Moore is chief creative officer of OH Partners, an agency with offices in Phoenix and Las Vegas.
See the work by clicking on the Creative Works box below.
To see the latest creative ads and campaigns, visit The Drum’s Creative Works section. If you or your creative director would like to be featured in our Creative Director’s Choice, please contact Kyle O’Brien.