Cornett channels ’90s sitcoms in kitschy tourism campaign for Dublin (the one in Ohio)

Kentucky agency Cornett has thrown ’90s sitcom vibes and Irish-ish imagery into a blender and whipped up a comical, uber-wholesome tourism campaign for Dublin—the town in Ohio, not Ireland. Two 15-second spots play like sitcom intros, with goofy little jingles and lots of over-smiling from the talent. They also manage to weave in local attractions such as the Columbus Zoo and downtown Bridge Park to encourage weekend visits. The theme is “You’re in Luck.” Cornett is no stranger to offbeat tourism work, having done it for years with VisitLEX, the tourism and visitors bureau for Lexington, Kentucky, where Cornett is based. Most recently, a VisitLEX effort featuring sneakers for horses won experiential campaign of the year at Ad Age’s Small Agency Awards. Among those who crafted the “You’re in Luck” campaign was Jason Majewski, a creative director at Cornett who happened to graduate from Dublin Coffman High School in 2005. “Dublin [Ohio] is a place filled with wholesomeness and charm,” Majewski said. “We wanted a campaign that brought that forward and left a fun, lasting impression. We pretty much asked ‘What if this town was a sitcom?’ And brought it to life with visuals and music.” Alexis Wilkinson, Cornett’s newest senior copywriter, who came from the world of TV comedy writing (including HBO's “Veep” and Fox's “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), also worked on the campaign—and drew on her TV experience. “There’s a real nostalgia for fun family shows set in these charming towns, so we wanted to create a modern version that’s uniquely Dublin,” she said. “Being funny and self-aware about the city’s quirkiness felt right.” The campaign has been running for a couple of weeks on digital display (via Google Display Network), YouTube and paid social inclusive of Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and Pinterest. It’s already seen strong results. “Halfway into the campaign, our optimization efforts have far exceeded our initial estimates, with an average of 46% lower costs across all performance media tactics,” said Chris Finnegan, VP, director of brand connections at Cornett. “To date, we’ve delivered 90% of the impressions and clicks and 60% more video views than we originally estimated.” Client and agency are now planning work for the fall, including a stunt aimed at attracting Irish Dubliners to visit the Midwestern city of the same name.

Cornett channels ’90s sitcoms in kitschy tourism campaign for Dublin (the one in Ohio)

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