Absurd Nova Scotia tourism ad

Nova Scotia has no idea how to brand itself. Or it has the wrong idea. No wonder tourism is dropping, and dropping, and dropping.

Case in point: a full-page ad in the new Reader's Digest (it's run elsewhere too) showing a hunky (I guess) guy in a kilt. He's leaning against a wall and holding a hammer.


Here is part of the copy that goes with the ad:

Tradition Doesn't Always Come with Grey Hair and a Cane

Since the kilt is rich in history and custom. you can see why many men to this day still wear one. You can also get a pretty good look at their legs.

This is a real winner, ain't it? First, it's offensive, second it's ridiculous. Maybe it's so ridiculous it's offensive.

Buddy in the ad is holding a hammer. Presumably it's not to use on the people mounting this campaign. So he must be some kind of construction worker I guess. The kind that wears a kilt to work. The kind that doesn't exist.

Just show him step-dancing or fiddling instead and get it over with.

Who is the audience for this? The ad is trying to appeal to the young hipster type, but also to emphasize tradition. Enter the URL that accompanies the ad and you don't get to the main Nova Scotia tourism page, but to the one that highlights the history of the province. It shows a dude playing a redcoat banging a drum.

To me, every single thing about this ad sends one strong message: We have no idea what the hell we are doing.