Arrow Slocan Tourism Animation Campaign
Creative + Production + Advertising
From Local Lore To A Brand-Defining Campaign
The Arrow Slocan region sits tucked into the West Kootenay mountains of British Columbia — remote, raw, and rich with history most people have never heard. Local legends of sasquatches in the valleys, trains that have sunk to the bottom of the lake, and eagles that locals talk about like old friends. These aren’t marketing angles. They’re the living culture of the place. Our challenge was to translate this local lore into a storytelling format that felt authentic, resonated with new audiences, and stood out in a saturated tourism market.
Drawing From The Source
In partnership with Italian animator Giovanni Maurutto, we developed an anime-inspired creative campaign built around legends native to the Arrow Slocan region. Each seasonal video brings a different local legend to life through hand-drawn animation — transforming stories whispered amongst locals to short-form social media content for a broader audience. For locals and returning travellers, the legends are an “if you know, you know” moment, a nod that deepens their connection to the region. For new travellers, the anime style itself is the hook, visually standing out from the usual sea of tourism tactics.
A Journey Worth Taking
Characters from each animation — like the sasquatch — were quietly planted across Arrow Slocan's social content in the days before a video's release. Hidden in photos, tucked into carousels, buried in stories, with no announcement or explanation. When the full video dropped, it contextualized everything — encouraging audiences to scroll back and find what they'd missed. The reveal unlocked entry into a secret giveaway, turning the campaign into a scavenger hunt that made the audience's own experience of the content mirror the brand's core promise: this is a journey worth taking, and the best parts are the ones you have to find yourself.
Arrow Slocan Tourism Animation Campaign
Creative + Production + Advertising
From Local Lore To A Brand-Defining Campaign
The Arrow Slocan region sits tucked into the West Kootenay mountains of British Columbia — remote, raw, and rich with history most people have never heard. Local legends of sasquatches in the valleys, trains that have sunk to the bottom of the lake, and eagles that locals talk about like old friends. These aren’t marketing angles. They’re the living culture of the place. Our challenge was to translate this local lore into a storytelling format that felt authentic, resonated with new audiences, and stood out in a saturated tourism market.
Drawing From The Source
In partnership with Italian animator Giovanni Maurutto, we developed an anime-inspired creative campaign built around legends native to the Arrow Slocan region. Each seasonal video brings a different local legend to life through hand-drawn animation — transforming stories whispered amongst locals to short-form social media content for a broader audience. For locals and returning travellers, the legends are an “if you know, you know” moment, a nod that deepens their connection to the region. For new travellers, the anime style itself is the hook, visually standing out from the usual sea of tourism tactics.
A Journey Worth Taking
Characters from each animation — like the sasquatch — were quietly planted across Arrow Slocan's social content in the days before a video's release. Hidden in photos, tucked into carousels, buried in stories, with no announcement or explanation. When the full video dropped, it contextualized everything — encouraging audiences to scroll back and find what they'd missed. The reveal unlocked entry into a secret giveaway, turning the campaign into a scavenger hunt that made the audience's own experience of the content mirror the brand's core promise: this is a journey worth taking, and the best parts are the ones you have to find yourself.
Proof It’s Not A Legend
The anime campaign set out to show that these local stories aren't just legends, they're real pieces of a place worth visiting. A train actually does sit at the bottom of Slocan Lake. The sasquatch sightings really are part of the local fabric. By bringing them to life through animation, the stories travel further than they ever could as text in a visitor's guide.
But the campaign proves something bigger. That the culture of a place — its myths, its history, the stories locals tell each other — can become the foundation of a brand identity, not just the backdrop. Arrow Slocan now has a creative platform that carries across seasons, builds recognition with every release, and rewards audiences who pay closer attention. The idea that authentic storytelling can differentiate a destination in a crowded market? That's proof it's not a legend.
Arrow Slocan Tourism Animation Campaign
Creative + Production + Advertising
From Local Lore To A Brand-Defining Campaign
The Arrow Slocan region sits tucked into the West Kootenay mountains of British Columbia — remote, raw, and rich with history most people have never heard. Local legends of sasquatches in the valleys, trains that have sunk to the bottom of the lake, and eagles that locals talk about like old friends. These aren’t marketing angles. They’re the living culture of the place. Our challenge was to translate this local lore into a storytelling format that felt authentic, resonated with new audiences, and stood out in a saturated tourism market.
Drawing From The Source
In partnership with Italian animator Giovanni Maurutto, we developed an anime-inspired creative campaign built around legends native to the Arrow Slocan region. Each seasonal video brings a different local legend to life through hand-drawn animation — transforming stories whispered amongst locals to short-form social media content for a broader audience. For locals and returning travellers, the legends are an “if you know, you know” moment, a nod that deepens their connection to the region. For new travellers, the anime style itself is the hook, visually standing out from the usual sea of tourism tactics.
A Journey Worth Taking
Characters from each animation — like the sasquatch — were quietly planted across Arrow Slocan's social content in the days before a video's release. Hidden in photos, tucked into carousels, buried in stories, with no announcement or explanation. When the full video dropped, it contextualized everything — encouraging audiences to scroll back and find what they'd missed. The reveal unlocked entry into a secret giveaway, turning the campaign into a scavenger hunt that made the audience's own experience of the content mirror the brand's core promise: this is a journey worth taking, and the best parts are the ones you have to find yourself.
