Visit Seattle Curls Up With a Good Book in New Ad Series

There’s a passage in the bestselling novel The Art of Racing in the Rain where the canine narrator waxes poetic about the ever-present drizzle in Seattle: “I like the misting, the feeling of tiny droplets on my muzzle and eyelashes, the freshness of the air, which has been suddenly infused with ozone and negative ions.” When read aloud—by prolific actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, no less—the page comes charmingly to life, turning the city’s much-maligned precipitation into a major selling point. Morgan is one of the local luminaries reading beloved books in Visit Seattle's new campaign, which represents a restart of the group’s investment in original episodic content. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vy1OkN3Jrc The documentary-style video, the first of five rolling out this summer, leans into Seattle’s literary roots and continues the tourism board’s unconventional approach to destination marketing. The concept for “Seattle Bookmarked” came from Visit Seattle’s longtime agency, PB&, as another way to “break from the norm” of the category, according to Ali Daniels, CMO at the tourism board. The partners never considered a typical travel ad, Daniels told Adweek, because “we’re more focused on sharing the story of Seattle and giving people a taste of its soul rather than just telling people what they can do here.” The book hook Consumer insights about the target audience led to the book hook, Daniels said, noting that seasoned travelers tend to be “drawn to things that are intellectually stimulating” like prestige TV, movies, podcasts and book clubs. Travelers identified as “super influential” vacationers are 200% more likely to be in book clubs and 40% more likely to read books at least twice a week, per MRI Simmons Doublebase 2022. Armed with that data, the group decided to use the “fresh new connection point” with its potential visitors, Daniels said, touting Seattle for its designation as a Unesco City of Literature. Seattle has been named a UNESCO City of Literature. 'A diverse mix' Along with Morgan, the campaign features actor Erika Christensen, professional ballet dancer Jonathan Batista, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner and local chef Kristi Brown of That Brown Girl Cooks! Among the novels they read are Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown; I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day; and The Magical Language of Others by EJ Koh. The stories, and sometimes also authors, have Seattle connections. The Art of Racing in the Rain is a twofer: Writer Garth Stein, who calls the area home, used Seattle as the dramedy’s setting. “We wanted to have a diverse mix of genres, authors, subjects and ways of talking about Seattle, and we had a similar approach for our readers,” Daniels said. “We wanted to bring a surprising range of voices to the table—some who people may know are connected to Seattle, and some that may surprise people.” DTC Luggage Brand Away Uses AI to Inspire Real Vacations PB& brought in Atlantic Re:Think as the project’s producer, which sourced real-life images of the city to illustrate the fictional excerpts. The Atlantic will give the project an additional media boost by distributing the video series on its owned media channels, including its site and social platforms. “Seattle Bookmarked” joins more than a dozen other multi-episodic series on VisitSeattle.tv, with the tourism group reinvesting in the entertainment channel for the first time since the Covid pandemic. The campaign videos, which will run through 2023 and beyond, will be distributed on YouTube and digital media, with activations and sponsorships planned for the fall alongside The Atlantic Festival.