How do you market a country?
We’ve seen truly epic ad campaigns selling everything from fashion to orange juice, but tourism agencies have to go small instead by capturing the essence of miles of land, scores of people, and years of history, in ten words or less.
Here are some blurbs that passed muster, but still gave rise to comedic results.
The Dead Obvious
Some things just don’t bear repeating.
Jordan – “Yes, it’s Jordan.”
Italy – “Made in Italy.”
Tunisia – “I feel like Tunisia.”
Portugal (westernmost country in Europe) – “Europe’s West Coast”
Kiribati (a country far out in the Pacific) – “For travellers”
Algeria – “Tourism for Everybody”
The Ancient Rivals
These four countries are all vying to be the cradle of civilisation.
Egypt – “Where it All Begins”
Ethiopia – “Land of Origins”
Mozambique – “Come to Where it All Started”
Israel – “Land of Creation”
The Cryptic
Tantalisingly vague, or is that the plan? These slogans make you want to Google the places.
Colombia – “Colombia is magical realism.”
El Salvador – “The 45 minute country”
Paraguay – “You have to feel it!”
Belize – “A Curious Place”
The Literally Impossible
Advertisements use poetic exaggeration, otherwise … really?
Lesotho – “The Kingdom in the Sky”
Honduras – “Everything is Here”
Seychelles – “Another World”
Guyana – “South America Undiscovered”
Cameroon – “All of Africa in One Country”
The Tripadvisor Reviews
It’s good not to be too formal, but have some class, people.
Cape Verde – “No stress”
Armenia – “Visit Armenia, it is beautiful”
Slovakia – “Travel in Slovakia – Good idea”
Nepal – “Once is Not Enough”
Word Shenanigans
As we demonstrated, it’s not just what you say, but how you say it. Despite being light on content, these slogans stick to the memory (almost like a song).
Lebanon – “Live Love Lebanon”
Djibouti – “Djibeauty”
Barbados – “Brilliant Barbados”
Burundi – “Beautiful Burundi”
Rwanda – “Remarkable Rwanda”
Palau – “Pristine Paradise Palau”
The Custom-made
Who doesn’t love a country-wide welcome wagon?
Luxembourg – “Live your Unexpected Luxembourg”
Russia – “Reveal Your Own Russia”
England – “Discover Your England”
Singapore – “Your Singapore”
Wales – “#FindYourEpic”
Iran – “You are Invited”
Bolivia – “Bolivia Awaits you”
Argentina – “Beats to Your Rhythm”
Venezuela – “Venezuela is Your Destination!”
The “Un-English”
When it’s English, but not really.
Jamaica – “Get All Right”
Morocco – “Much Mor”
Lithuania – “Real is Beautiful”
Uruguay – “Uruguay Natural”
Ironic Taglines
When Truth says, “Wait a minute…!”
Nigeria (given the Nigerian prince scam meme) – “Good People, Great Nation”
Fiji (an island country 500km from its nearest neighbour) – “Where Happiness Finds You”
Syria (think civil war and humanitarian crisis) – “Always Beautiful”
USA (9.83 million km sq) – “All Within Your Reach”
Copyright Infringements
Finally, these tourism slogans sound suspiciously like song lyrics. Can you sue a country for plagiarism?
Turkey – “Be Our Guest” (Beauty and the Beast: Be Our Guest)
Ukraine – “It’s All About U” (McFly: It’s All About You)
Ecuador – “All You Need is Ecuador” (The Beatles: All You Need is Love)
Ad agencies get props for distilling the feel of a country onto a bumper sticker, only to be topped by marketing an entire planet, a feat which has surprisingly already been attempted.
Viva la tagline!
By Vincent Tan
