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.