Soubriet Byrne & Associates worked with the Swiss Tourism Board to create a series of lighthearted videos called “Swiss Myths,” featuring host and “travel investigator” Michael Delaney.
In the series, Delaney goes about dispelling myths from “The Swiss only eat fondue” to “The Swiss don’t have fun” to the notion that there’s always snow in Switzerland and that you have to speak the language. Throughout the series employs a kind of lighthearted, and somewhat cheesy, humor that wouldn’t be out of place on a Travel Channel series from back before the Travel Channel was all about food.
The highlight of the series is definitely “Fondue or Fondon’t?” (the title of which should give you an idea of what to expect). In the video, Delaney goes to an upscale Swiss restaurant and is astonished to find that they don’t serve fondue. Disappointed, Delaney still finds use for his long fork. The rest of the videos follow the same formula: humorously debunking commonly held misconceptions or generalizations about Switzerland while extolling the country’s appealing tourist aspects. A couple of these, namely “Nice Pass!” and “Speakin’ Swiss,” seem a little out of touch, as I’m not sure many people think it’s hard to get around the country or don’t know that its citizens largely speak English. The video series is the Swiss Tourism site, where visitors can enter to win a “Grand Prize of an eight-day all expense paid trip, from Swiss Int. Air Lines and Globus Journeys, throughout the magnificent country,” as well as navigate through photos and funny quizes. Stick around for “#%&@% Palm Tree!” and credits after the jump.
Credits:
Creative Agency: Soubriet Byrne & Associates Production & Editing: Numeric Pictures Director: Dave Steck Talent: Michael Delaney Swiss Partners: Switzerland Tourism, Lake Geneva & Matterhorn Region, Luzern, Zurich and St Moritz