CLIENT Ely Chamber of Commerce / PROJECT Ely Tourism
ROLE
Art Director
Designer
Concept development
Production
COPYWRITER
John Jarvis
The northern Minnesota town of Ely sits near the Canadian border. It is known as the entryway to the Boundry Waters Canoe Area. This quiet little town attracts visitors worldwide who want to explore the one million acres of unspoiled wilderness. Without a lot of money but a lot of moxie, we kicked off the 2009 tourism campaign with a bang. We floated the idea on April Fool’s Day that Canada was trying to buy Ely and move it to the Canadian side of the border. With a series of radio spots, press releases, and lawn signs, we fed the story to local news outlets. Soon, the national press had picked up the story, and Ely had pulled off one of the best April Fool’s jokes ever. USA Today called it the act of a “marketing genius.”
This first project set the tone for a decade of creative campaigns that, year after year, captured the playful attitude of this unique small town and attracted national media attention.
This radio spot, written by John Jarvis, shows how we fooled everyone and established the tenor for years to come.
In 2010, Ely announced it’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
On Apeil 1, 2011, we announced the naming rights for the BWCAW had been sold to International Dairy Queen.
On April 1, 2012, we announced that Ely officially banned all social media.
On April Fools Day, 2014, we introduced cable TV's newest channel, The Ely Channel.
April 1, 2015, we announce that the Ely City Council voted to ban drones.
On April Fools Day, 2016, at the Minneapolis Boat Show, Ely launched an easier way to canoe the Boundary Waters.
On April Fools Day, 2017, Ely launched the first canoe ride-sharing service called Canoeber
JEFF JONES || ART DIRECTOR & CREATIVE DIRECTOR || MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA || USA
