Yukon in the winter is perceived as a place where there’s not a lot to do and where it’s rugged, remote and reserved for hardcore survivalists brave enough to tackle the icy tundra. But that’s far from the truth, so Travel Yukon launched a campaign inspired by the cultural term “being metal”—which shares a definition with being hardcore—and dialled it back from eleven, showing that travellers only need to be a little bit metal to enjoy the season up there.
“We didn’t just need to reframe the perception of the Yukon in winter—we wanted a campaign that stood out from conventional tourism ads, breaking away from the slow pans across beautiful vistas,” says Michael Pal, Associate Creative Director at Cossette Vancouver. “Leaning into ‘being metal’ gave the team the opportunity to do something bold, playful and completely different for the category.”
The notion of needing to be hardcore to enjoy winter in the Yukon is being reframed thanks to heavy metal. Travel Yukon, in partnership with Cossette, has released The Yukon: It’s a Little Bit Metal, which combines crunchy riffs with lyrics highlighting the modern comforts available, producing a metal music track and video that shows you only need to be a little bit metal to visit the region in winter.
Travel Yukon’s new campaign launched with a full track on Spotify, as well as a full music video on digital (YouTube), a TV spot during the Juno Awards, plus paid and organic social, and runs until the end of March.
Credits
Travel Yukon
Digital Marketing Specialist: Emilie Joslin
Digital Marketing Strategist: Annie-Claude Dupuis
Marketing Manager, North America, Consumer: Jason Marcotte
Digital Marketing Specialist: Silken Cinq-Mars
Cossette
Senior Art Director: Crystal Lee
Senior Copywriter: Steve Whittingham
Associate Creative Director: Michael Pal
Creative Director: Scott Schneider
Group Creative Director: John Osborne
Business Director: Joy Lucas
Business Director: Heather Forbes
Account Executive: Divya Mann
Director, Delivery: Aimee Phillips
Producer: Krista McMillan
Strategy Director: Max MacBeath
Strategist: Amandine Verdier
Strategist: Tuula Rea
Cossette Media
VP, Media Director: Josh Tebbutt
Media Planner: Christina Bourhill
GBP Creative
Director/Cinematographer: Gary Bremner
Producer: Brianne Bremner
Flip 78
Audio Producer: Eric Mosher
Wallop Film
Director: Sterling Larose
Lead Producer: Luis Guerra
Creative Director: Martin Glegg
Director of Operations: Matt Lawrence Dix
Bullen Brothers
Cinematographer: Gabriel Bullen
Cinematographer: Thomas Bullen