VisitLEX: “Lexington Is Real Life - It’s Time To Unplug"

If you aren’t in Lexington, Kentucky, you aren’t really living, according to a new campaign for VisitLEX by Lexington-based agency Cornett.

“Lexington Is Real Life” aims to increase local tourism with a series of five online videos and print ads aimed at techno-overdosed quarantiners within a short drive of Central Kentucky who’ve been trapped at home making sourdough bread and watching Netflix for the past several months.

Lexington is within a day’s drive of 2/3 of the U.S. population, making it an ideal road trip destination.

The ads appear as promos for boring lockdown pastimes before flipping the script with clever copy and beautiful images that showcase the wide-open spaces of Central Kentucky and the safe outdoor activities it affords visitors even in the midst of pandemic precautions.

“Take an online Zoom course,” suggests one video with a stale blue background. It quickly upgrades to real-life, featuring exhilarating GoPro footage of a tourist ziplining through a forest canopy.

“Finally, a stable connection,” reads a print ad of two women feeding a horse.

Would-be travelers are then directed to a companion landing page for more details about “small-batch experiences” like kayaking, tours of bourbon distilleries, and horse farms that cater to small groups—as well as additional resources like best practices for safe travel.

The campaign is running from July through October via Facebook, search, native advertising, the KY Visitor Annual Guide, TripAdvisor Destination Sponsorship, and Bourbon Review’s summer issue.

“As travel sentiment began to shift and we saw people were more comfortable with travel, we focused the campaign on places 200-400 miles away and prioritized markets from there,” said Leslie Miller, VP, Director of Brand Management, at Cornett.

“Lexington’s main pillars are also those that can easily be adapted for social distancing – we have wide open spaces in droves, Horse Farm Tours and Bourbon Distillery Tours,” continued Miller. “We were able to lean on our main pillars that people are aware of and remind people to visit Lexington and experience our wide open space and partake in countless outdoor activities.”

A collection of illustrated digital postcards complete the “Lexington Is Real Life” campaign. These shareable retro works of art dovetail with VisitLEX’s ongoing #ShareTheLex initiative, giving passionate locals a convenient way to invite their friends and family to experience all that Lexington has to offer.

In real life, of course.