Just in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s something of a Star Wars spectacular happening right now.

Rothco has picked up that ball and is playing with it like Beckham. The agency has given the tired-but-true classic tourist ad a fresh new sparkle for Ireland’s national tourism development authority, Fáilte Ireland, with its tongue-in-cheek nod to the use of Irish locations in the latest Star Wars blockbuster.

The ad, Otherwordly, imagines that it’s an ad for aliens by outer space travel agency, Tourism Cyhaccm. Its observations of the country are humorously cliched, but seen through the eyes of aliens – and the subtitles are hilarious. The text, which uses the Star Wars dialect, reads:

“In an other galaxy lies the planet Earth. A small planet unlike to our. A destination way off the tri-vector path. But the perfected galactic escape. And why not start it on here? The earth inhabiters call it the Wild Atlantic Way. Relax. Let you’re hairs down. Don’t delaying. Go now.”

The 60 second spot is screening in Irish cinemas just before the film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and uses the heavy publicity the popular Irish tourism route has been receiving as a result of the recent Star Wars film shoot as its springboard. Its aim is to get Irish vacationers to see the region in a new way, drawing attention to the glorious scenery, culture and experiences – all of which lie temptingly, not “so far-far away”.

Alan Kelly, executive creative director of Rothco, commented, “To engage domestic tourists in a completely new way, we committed to making the ad feel truly authentic. As a result, no Fáilte Ireland branding is visible. We deliberately created clunkily translated English subtitles and designed sound-reactive graphics to stimulate and entertain the audience.”

The sound of the strange galactic language running through the ad, was created by EchoLab, which has worked on Star Wars trailers previously. Viewers are encouraged to visit the official Wild Atlantic Way website, designed to generate bookings as the Star Wars-themed approach resonates with the Irish audience.

https://vimeo.com/246939118/c02dda98e1

In stage two of the campaign, Fáilte Ireland will respond to the number of outer space visitors. It will release a series of quirky online social films in the style of helpful, friendly infomercials to educate these galactic tourists on all the wonderful things they’ll encounter as they fully embrace the Wild Atlantic Way of life. Further playful sci-fi, outer space Fáilte Ireland activity will follow across other channels.

Credit

Client                                             Daragh Anglim, Gemma Flanagan & Mary O’Shea