The Great Escape – Graubünden Tourism | Clapboard Ad Archive

Touching Masterpieces - National Gallery of Prague | Clapboard Ad Archive

Touching Masterpieces for the National Gallery of Prague, crafted by Geometry Global in 2018, redefines accessibility in the travel and leisure category by harnessing cutting-edge VR haptic glove technology to deliver an immersive art experience for the blind. This digital campaign centers on transforming three iconic sculptures—Michelangelo’s David, Venus de Milo, and the bust of Nefertiti—into tangible virtual objects that visitors can explore through a bespoke multi-frequency haptic glove developed in collaboration with NeuroDigital and the Leontinka Foundation. By simulating tactile feedback with precise vibrations that stimulate different types of skin cells, the Avatar VR glove allows users to perceive the texture, form, and contours of these masterpieces in three-dimensional virtual space, thus bridging the sensory gap that traditionally limits art engagement for visually impaired audiences. This approach situates the product as an essential protagonist in the narrative, illustrating how technology can democratize cultural experiences and extend the gallery’s reach beyond conventional visual means. The campaign exemplifies FORMAT#5—Exemplary Story in Clapboard’s taxonomy—by telling a story where the innovation at the heart of the experience is not ancillary but vital to the resolution of the plot, which is to make art accessible and meaningful to all visitors regardless of their sight capabilities. Geometry Global’s integration of advanced haptics within a digital framework underscores the evolving role of experiential marketing in the leisure sector, where the convergence of tech and culture creates new touchpoints for engagement. The campaign credits extend to the National Gallery in Prague, the Mayor of Prague, and the Ministry of Culture Czech Republic, reflecting a collaborative effort that transcends commercial objectives to embrace social inclusion. Clapboard rates this campaign 82/100. Touching Masterpieces matters to the industry because it demonstrates how immersive technology can redefine audience inclusion while affirming that innovation in cultural marketing must prioritize meaningful human connection to remain relevant.

Dave the Dog - WestJet | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Dave the Dog - WestJet | Clapboard Ad Archive

Dave the Dog catapulted WestJet into the center of the UK–Canada travel conversation in 2015, as Publicis delivered a digital campaign whose core creative idea harnessed the universal appeal of a canine mascot to champion affordability in the fiercely contested air travel market. The singular media asset, deployed strategically on YouTube, introduced Dave as a lovable, slightly mischievous character with an ingenious lifehack for saving money on flights, spotlighting WestJet’s key product benefit — consistently low fares between London and Canada. This narrative approach aligns precisely with what Clapboard’s taxonomy delineates as FORMAT#6—Benefit Causes Story, where the campaign’s storyline is triggered directly by the advertised value, propelling the protagonist’s action and driving memorability through a benefit-first plot construct. Designed to drive digital engagement, the campaign actively funneled viewers toward subscription and cross-channel interaction, with calls to action that connected audiences not only to the WestJet YouTube hub — renowned for viral stunts like Christmas Miracle and a portfolio of behind-the-scenes airline content — but also to WestJet’s presence across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. By leveraging Dave’s quirky persona and contrasting his comic approach to travel problem-solving with the real value proposition of WestJet’s fares, the campaign effectively married entertainment with utility, setting the brand’s tone as approachable, irreverent, and sharply focused on consumer needs. The creative recognized that in an era defined by value-driven travel decisions, storytelling anchored in tangible product benefits — rather than generic lifestyle glamour or dutiful itinerary showcases — yields resonance and shareability, earning WestJet a distinctive voice amid larger legacy carriers. The campaign earns 57/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. For the industry, Dave the Dog exemplifies how purpose-built narrative formats that integrate distinct mascots and clear-cut benefits can yield brand differentiation in even the most commoditized transport sectors.

Do it better - Virgin Trains | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Do it better - Virgin Trains | Clapboard Ad Archive

Virgin Trains’ 2016 campaign Do it better, created by TMW for the United Kingdom market, lands a memorable punch in the crowded travel and leisure category by framing the brand’s core value proposition in unflinching human terms: why endure the tedium of driving when you could be doing something so much better—namely, riding a Virgin Train. The campaign’s digital content offers a confident masterclass in contemporary brand storytelling, using candid interviews with real couples to draw a cheeky, instantly relatable analogy between the frustrations of being stuck behind the wheel and the universal disappointments of bad sex, described as slow, sweaty, and the cause of arguments. Rather than laboring through literal scenarios of traffic or commuter misery, the work operates firmly in what Clapboard’s 12-format taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem—using culturally loaded metaphors as shorthand for the everyday frustrations that most would prefer not to relive. This creative device does more than provoke a laugh; it creates an emotional jolt that frames Virgin Trains as the liberating, pleasurable alternative—a fleeting but memorable experience that stands in playful contrast to the drawn-out drudgery of car travel. By blending the authenticity of unscripted opinions with bold humor that dares to cross into the intimate, TMW’s execution strengthens brand recall and drives home the message that Virgin Trains offers an upgrade not just in convenience but in how people feel about their time on the move. The campaign’s humorous, slightly provocative tone is carefully measured, signaling confidence without resorting to outright shock, and integrating effortlessly with Virgin Trains’ challenger brand ethos. Subtle production choices—natural casting, off-the-cuff conversational editing, and lean art direction—allow the analogy to remain the star, ensuring that the creative never loses sight of the strategic outcome: to have viewers rethink their default travel choices and associate the brand with pleasure rather than obligation. While the campaign comprised just two media assets, its conceptual clarity and sharp execution secured positive resonance and underlined Virgin Trains’ willingness to go beyond category conventions in order to claim attention and consideration. Clapboard rates this 63/100. For an industry often resigned to literal demonstrations of comfort or speed, this work matters because it proves that bold symbolic storytelling can reframe the competitive set and spark genuine audience reappraisal.

Projections - Zurich Film Festival | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Projections - Zurich Film Festival | Clapboard Ad Archive

Projections, the flagship campaign created by Euro RSCG for the Zurich Film Festival in Year 2011, stands as a concise yet evocative piece of film communication within the recreation and leisure sector, seeking to elevate the festival’s brand among discerning European cinephiles. Rather than resorting to narrative testimonials or direct depictions of festival highlights, Projections embodies an imaginative approach that aligns with what Clapboard’s taxonomy identifies as FORMAT#9—Symbolize the Benefit: using the act and idea of cinematic projection as a visual metaphor for the festival’s unique power to transport and transform its audiences. Delivered to a German-speaking demographic through targeted television spots, the campaign focuses on the symbolic and immersive qualities of cinema, eschewing event literalism in favor of rich, exaggerated visuals that channel the emotional resonance and escapist potential of film. This creative approach leverages the inherent magic of the medium itself, portraying the Zurich Film Festival less as a ticketed event and more as an expansive portal into new worlds and perspectives, thereby differentiating it from the crowded field of cultural happenings in Switzerland and the broader travel and leisure marketplace. The single media asset reflects a strategic decision to maintain precision of message and emotional clarity, trusting viewers to intuitively grasp the abstract reward of festival attendance—a rarefied cinematic encounter that lives in the imagination long after the closing credits roll. By integrating the act of projection as a central visual motif, Euro RSCG aligns the festival’s identity with the deeper, more universal pleasure-seeking motivations of recreation audiences, cementing Zurich’s position as a meeting ground for both artistry and community. The campaign earns 61/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. This work is significant for the industry because it demonstrates how leveraging abstract symbolism can elevate brand meaning, particularly when competing for mindshare in the saturated landscape of event-based cultural marketing.

Get some sun - Davos | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Get some sun - Davos | Clapboard Ad Archive

Davos and Bandara’s Get some sun campaign in Year set a new standard for experiential marketing in the travel and leisure sector, targeting Zurich’s winter-weary residents with a creative concept that blended immersive technology, sensory stimulation, and celebrity-driven brand recall. With Zurich’s sunless winter as its context, the activation placed a real chairlift installation in the heart of Europaallee and armed visitors with VR headsets that instantaneously whisked them from the city’s grey fog to the sun-drenched panoramas of Davos Klosters. The experience unfolded not as a straightforward product demo but as a meticulously orchestrated sensory journey: participants virtually rode a chairlift, skied across alpine slopes, and found themselves welcomed at the iconic Jatzhütte, with every environmental cue rigorously considered. A fan conjured the crisp mountain wind; a heating element recreated the feeling of alpine sun against skin; and the air was thick with the distinctive aroma of molten fondue, grounding the simulation in a Swiss gastronomic staple. Central to the narrative was the presence of Dominique Rinderknecht, former Miss Switzerland and a visible ambassador for the Davos brand, whose dual role inside the VR simulation and in-person as a surprise host exemplified how a recurring and aspirational personality can deepen emotional connection—a device that sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#8—Ongoing Characters or Celebrities. Rather than serve as a direct spokesperson, Rinderknecht’s integration lent familiarity, aspiration, and immediacy, helping visitors dissolve the boundary between Zurich’s urban grind and Davos’s mountain hospitality. This seamless interplay of celebrity, setting, and sensory touchpoints not only heightened the drama and memorability of the encounter but also entrenched Davos within participants’ consideration set as a tangible antidote to midwinter malaise. The campaign’s single media asset, capturing authentic emotion and astonishment, underscored the potency of the creative approach—proving that even in measured, real-world contexts, carefully executed multi-sensory and personality-driven engagement can transform perception. Clapboard rates this 69/100. As destination marketers look to the next horizon for experience-led storytelling, Get some sun demonstrates the compounded impact of integrating iconic faces with cutting-edge immersive formats to deliver localized utility and lasting brand equity.

The Pop Charade Release - Popaganda Music Festival | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

The Pop Charade Release - Popaganda Music Festival | Clapboard Ad Archive

Popaganda Music Festival’s The Pop Charade Release, developed by Saatchi & Saatchi in Year: 2014, stands as a digital campaign that exemplifies the brand’s longstanding affinity with playful culture while targeting Sweden’s fervent music and leisure audience. With an unapologetically bold embrace of pop culture parody, this campaign leveraged the well-known party game motif—charades—as a central creative device, making the act of festival anticipation itself into a communal guessing game resonant with the festival’s core values of recreation and artistic exuberance. By situating the campaign firmly within the recognizable contours of what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#12—Parody or Borrowed Format, Saatchi & Saatchi made a calculated play for cultural currency, utilizing a single crisp digital asset to transform the everyday anticipation of the festival lineup into participatory entertainment for music lovers. The campaign’s use of the Swedish language was not merely a gesture of localisation but an intentional strategy to embed the Popaganda brand within the social texture of its community, deepening engagement and reinforcing authenticity in a crowded leisure and travel marketplace notorious for generic messaging. Though the campaign centered its activity on a sharp, pared-down execution, its creative approach demonstrated an acute fluency in targeted storytelling: joining playful genre mimicry with local touchpoints in a way that respected both the intelligence and aspirations of its audience. The decision to harness a familiar party trope was especially apt given Popaganda’s position as a flagship event for Sweden’s young, socially dynamic festival-going cohort, enabling the campaign to serve both as an invitation and a conversation starter while making brand participation feel accessible and fun. In execution, The Pop Charade Release sidestepped overproduced spectacle in favor of direct digital interactivity, aligning perception with festival values and offering a low-friction way for would-be attendees to feel included in the shared ritual of music anticipation—qualities that often define memorable brand moments within the travel and leisure category. The campaign earns 52/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. This campaign matters because it demonstrates that even a streamlined digital effort, when rooted in a culturally fluent creative format and executed with clarity, can authentically embed a leisure brand in an audience’s rituals and collective anticipation.

Epicgram - B Classic | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Epicgram - B Classic | Clapboard Ad Archive

Epicgram, the 2016 digital campaign from DDB for B Classic in Belgium’s Recreation and Leisure sector, set out to recast the appeal of classical music for a digitally native audience by transforming ordinary smartphone videos into cinematic experiences—quite literally, elevating the moment with the gravitas of history’s greatest composers. Anchored by the launch of the Epicgram app and executed in partnership with music label Outhere Music, the campaign invited users to add slow-motion video effects and overlay them with curated classical music tracks, reframing the humdrum world of user-generated content as a stage where the everyday becomes extraordinary. Rather than selling festival tickets or records via conventional persuasion, Epicgram took a cultural route—spotlighting the emotional depth and cinematic resonance that classical scores can bring to even the most mundane scenes, like a spilled cup of coffee or a stroll through the park. This strategy sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#9—Symbolize the Benefit taxonomy, using the unmistakable drama of slow-motion visuals and the emotional shift triggered by orchestral works to exaggerate the promise of the product: your life as epic movie moment. The app was deftly positioned for widespread uptake with seamless download links for both iPhone and Android users, ensuring accessibility for a connected youth audience while reinforcing B Classic’s credentials as an innovator at the intersection of music, lifestyle, and technology. DDB’s creative leveraged digital culture’s fascination with filters and enhancement—usually reserved for image beautification—and applied it audaciously to sound, reframing classical compositions as dynamic tools for emotional amplification in personal storytelling. Ultimately, Epicgram’s blend of high culture and contemporary digital formats fostered a growing community of young creators who found new relevance in orchestral music, refracting B Classic’s brand through the lens of viral shareability rather than institutional formality. Clapboard rates this campaign 63/100. For the industry, Epicgram stands as compelling evidence that classical music’s enduring emotional impact can be brought closer to the digital generation when brands are willing to experiment with new symbolic languages and participatory technology.

Campaign Proposition

The campaign "The Great Escape" by Graubünden Tourism, launched in Switzerland in 2015, centers on the contrast between urban stress and rural tranquility to position the brand as a gateway to relaxation and natural escape. The brand proposition emphasizes the ease and immediacy of transitioning from the hectic city life, specifically at Zurich Central Station, to the serene environment of the Graubünden village of Vrin. This promise of swift and accessible calm leverages the appeal of peaceful nature as a direct counterpoint to everyday urban pressure. The market strategy taps into the insight that prospective travelers in busy cities seek spontaneous breaks to recharge. By installing a live digital billboard at a key commuter hub, the campaign physically and metaphorically bridges the gap between two vastly different environments: the bustling city and the tranquil mountains. This experiential and interactive approach targets stressed city dwellers, inviting them to momentarily escape through visual storytelling that connects on an emotional level. The creative angle uses real-time digital technology to reinforce the brand’s narrative of effortless accessibility to nature’s quiet, aligning with consumer desires for immediate relief from urban overwhelm. Through this narrative-driven execution, the campaign effectively situates Graubünden Tourism as an intuitive, desirable choice for spontaneous leisure and rejuvenation within Switzerland’s travel and transport market.

Creative Device

FORMAT#2 SHOW THE PROBLEM — Highlights a relatable problem, then shows the product as the solution. This campaign unmistakably fits the "Show the Problem" creative format. The narrative setup contrasts “the most hectic place” (Zurich Central Station) with “the most peaceful place” (the mountain village of Vrin), emphasizing the problem of urban stress faced by city dwellers. The digital live billboard then offers an immediate solution by facilitating spontaneous escapes to tranquility, directly positioning Graubünden Tourism as the answer. The execution is driven by problem–solution framing rather than a story arc, exaggeration, or symbolic representation, standing apart from testaments, direct demonstration, or storytelling. ADVERTISING FORMATS EXPLAINED: https://www.clapboard.com/blog/branding-and-advertising/brand-strategy/12-advertising-creative-formats

Competitive Planks

Switzerland Tourism – Market Positioning Switzerland Tourism positions itself as the premier promoter of the entire Swiss travel experience, emphasizing luxury, alpine adventure, and cultural heritage. It leverages a holistic approach highlighting diverse regions, including mountains, lakes, and urban centers, backed by strong storytelling and digital engagement, to attract international travelers seeking both relaxation and outdoor activities.

SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) – Market Positioning SBB differentiates as Switzerland’s national transport backbone, focusing on seamless, efficient, and sustainable rail travel. Their strategic angle combines convenience with eco-friendly mobility solutions, catering to both domestic commuters and tourists, positioning themselves as the most reliable and innovative transport link for discovering Switzerland’s regions.

Engadin St. Moritz Tourism – Market Positioning Engadin St. Moritz promotes itself as a high-end alpine destination renowned for luxury winter sports, wellness resorts, and exclusivity. It capitalizes on its pristine natural landscapes and prestigious events, targeting affluent tourists seeking premium experiences in a unique cultural and natural setting.

Swiss Travel System – Market Positioning Swiss Travel System offers integrated ticketing and transport passes, promoting hassle-free exploration across Swiss regions. Their focus lies in convenience, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness for international travelers who want to experience Switzerland by train, boat, and bus, positioning themselves as the essential gateway for immersive travel.

Valais/Wallis Tourism – Market Positioning Valais Tourism positions the region as a year-round destination combining world-famous peaks (like the Matterhorn), health resorts, and diverse outdoor activities. They emphasize authentic alpine culture, gastronomy, and a blend of adventure and relaxation, catering to both nature lovers and luxury seekers.