Tahiti Tempts With the Romance of Travel

Advertiser: Tahiti Tourisme, the government tourist office

Agency: Phelps Group, Santa Monica

Challenge: Get Tahiti on the travel lists of upscale adults seeking a quiet, tropical getaway.

The Ad: A print ad shows a postcard-like scene--the orange glow of a setting sun bathes a row of thatched huts in a quiet lagoon. “Maybe it’s because the sun left a big, red kiss in the sky. . . . Maybe it’s because the palms are taking a nap by the lagoon,” the ad says. “Whatever it is, it’s working.” Beneath the photo is the campaign slogan “Tahiti, where love lives.”

Comment: When the French ended nuclear testing off the waters of French Polynesia in 1996, it freed the islands from a controversial issue that had prompted anti-government rioting in 1995. But it left the islands, dominated by Tahiti, in desperate need to raise revenue to replace the French military subsidy. This ad, which is running in lifestyle and travel magazines, presents a lovely picture. But it doesn’t address what travel executives say is a big stumbling block for vacation travelers--the perception that Tahiti, two hours beyond Hawaii, is too far away. $$