Red phone booths tempt New Yorkers back to the UK in tourism push

The UK is hoping to lure Americans back to visit as tourists after the pandemic with a new advertising blitz that includes placing red phone booths across New York City this week. The push Great Britain and Northern Ireland Campaign (known as "Great") will include ringing phones where passers-by can “answer the call” to wing tickets to one of several activations centered around food, innovation, sports and music. The activations will include a live cookalong hosted by “The Great British Baking Show” winner and celebrity chef Nadiya Hussain; an AI bankquet from multisensory experience designers Bompas & Parr; a soccer-themed even hosted by the English Premier League featuring famous players Ian Wright and Michael Carrick; and a musical showcase of emerging talent from Sofar Sounds. The campaign, by M&C Saatchi, also includes outdoor ads and a series of social videos from well-known British stars, addressing misconceptions about the U.K. by reading out some disparaging comments from Americans about the U.K. on social media. For example, the likes of Gordon Ramsay and "Downton Abbey" star Hugh Bonneville laugh over comments that the U.K.s food is "mainly ham" or "stewed lamb." The campaign follows a survey conducted by Harris on behalf of the organization that revealed American misconceptions about the U.K. These included that Americans did not list the U.K. among the top 10 nations that “have cuisines worth traveling for," and that only 9% of Americans believe the U.K. has had the greatest, most positive influence on music and culture globally. It also found that most Americans lacked awareness of the British roots of legends like Mick Jagger and David Bowie or even Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles and Dua Lipa. It comes as the U.K. is encouraging U.S. travelers back in the wake of relaxing Covid restrictions for foreigners. Vaccinated Americans can now travel to the U.K. without proof of a negative test, and most Covid rules have been dropped within the U.K. Whether or not they'll find may red phone booths left, in the era of mobile phones, is another matter.

Red phone booths tempt New Yorkers back to the UK in tourism push

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