Guernsey. Wish you were here?
I don’t. Or rather, I don’t believe that this ad (which appeared over the weekend in a colour supplement) IN ANY WAY reflects what Guernsey truly has to offer (and that’s putting it mildly).
The body copy gets much closer to the truth (‘inspiring cliff walks and lazy strolls on golden beaches, all rounded off with some of the best food you’ll ever taste’). Sadly, it’s unlikely that many will get that far, having already been underwhelmed by the picture of the odd looking fishing boats, moored in the shadow of a mini fort (the Cup & Saucer may hold a special place in our hearts, but it’s hardly a crowd-puller in the mould of Mont Orgueil – hence its prominence in our Island’s promotion remains sadly unclear).
7 responses so far ↓
1 James // Mar 5, 2009 at 10:32
What a terrible headline! My first thoughts when seeing ‘currency’ was of tax havens and money laundering, and this was some ‘anti’ advert or article done in the style of the Visit Guernsey adverts.
2 Scarlett // Mar 5, 2009 at 18:45
My understanding, from a very reliable source, is that since this campaign has launched, VisitGuernsey’s enquiries are up by 60%, and they couldn’t be happier.
3 JP // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:47
I agree, what are they playing at? Especially in these troubled times when Guernsey’s finance industry isn’t as safe as it once was. Now is the time to adapt (as Guernsey has done many times in the past). The States should be trying to revive the tourist industry not let it fade away as it has been doing for at least a decade. Guernsey has so much to offer, why don’t we tell people about it? Instead we show a white cylindrical building on a rock which doesn’t mean anything to anyone outside of the island.
Of course there are other issues which need addressing before the tourists come flocking back, after all why would you want to pay over £100 per head to fly from London, or around £300 on the boat when you can travel further afield for less? Why does it need to cost so much to get here? I know this is a bit of a chicken and egg situation but that just means we need to tackle both transport and tourism at the same time. Easier said than done, but I do know that advertising like this isn’t going to solve anything.
4 Nicky // Mar 17, 2009 at 19:06
It just makes Guernsey look even more backward than ever. When I went to Uni, people used to take the mickey that all people from Guernsey did was sit on a rock and fish all day.…horrible looking water and sand and terrible picture!
Why not have some pictures of the Cliffs in spring or one of the prettier beaches??? I teach over here, even my class of 10 year olds can come up with something more inspiring. Come on Guernsey, sell the place to the under 60s too!
5 Terry // Mar 31, 2009 at 8:50
at least it’s better than the ‘there is more to do in gernsey’ letter writing tv adverts you used to run!
6 Class 5B // Jun 17, 2009 at 12:52
We are a class of 10 year olds from Weston-super-Mare in England. Our teacher is from Guernsey. We’re looking at creating effective adverts at the moment and these are our comments on this advert:
1) the picture is pretty but it doesn’t match the writing. It says that there are golden beaches but the sand in the picture is really dull. It should have a sunny day; Guernsey prices are the same as going to Spain so people will want to go somewhere that is sunny & the picture has clouds.
2) the map in the advert is really good as it shows where it is & explains why there’s a French influence.
3) a good written description but it is let down by the picture which doesn’t make us want to go there.
4) the headline doesn’t mean much to people who don’t know about Guernsey history.
5) it’s not very colourful and doesn’t catch your eye.
7 Ric // Jun 17, 2009 at 13:27
Thanks Class 5B. It’s nice to know that school kids are getting an education in advertising as it’s a big and important industry in the modern world. Furthermore, children observe and look at things with a different eye to adults so it’s great to get opinions from all ages. I agree with what you’re saying about the image maybe not presenting the best view of the island.
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