Views.

Recently Tourism Toronto released their 2017 campaign to promote tourism in the city of Toronto. Needless to say, the reaction was extremely positive and receptive by many, including local Torontonians.  In the 71-second clip, the viewer is introduced to many quick shots showcasing various parts of the city, focusing on popular destinations in the city as well as hidden gems. J. Walter Thompson Canada directed the visual,  which features vocals performed by Toronto poet and singer Bethany Lee.

While the focus of this video is to promote Toronto tourism, it also doubles up as a civic pride exercise.  For many years, Toronto has constantly been labeled as a micro town comparable to the bright lights of its counterpart in New York city. However, in recent years the city affectionately known as “The 6” has established their own identity, their own culture and uniqueness.  Dubbed as “Canada’s Downtown”, a lot of locals took to social media praising the clip for demonstrating what they already knew about their city.

Diversity and Equality.

As Toronto is the most visited destination in Canada, the city does not discriminate.  It has one of the largest LGBTQ communities in the world and is home to a large array of diverse and unique cultures. The town openly welcomes new visitors who are looking to find a place both in their professional and personal lives.

With that mindset comes opportunities for multiculturalism and immigration to the city.   There are various pockets in Toronto that cater to different communities like Chinatown in Spadina, Little Italy on College street and Polish town in Roncesvalles to name a few. Toronto truly embraces and shows love in its vast diversity.

The world in one city.

Toronto no longer wants to blend anymore with other cities in the world.  It wants people to know that they clearly have their own established identity and are not afraid to break barriers down.  No longer does the city want to be known as the best kept secret, but to let the international audience know that culture wise there is a little bit of everything all in one city.  Last month I made a presentation highlighting this campaign, which you can check out below.