Costa Rica Tourism Board: Million Dollar Gift of Happiness

The “Million Dollar Gift of Happiness” campaign leverages Costa Rica’s top spot on the Happy Planet Index, and aims to spread the happiness with a million dollars worth of free trips to the country. Through a contest on the Visit Costa Rica Facebook page, the Costa Rica Tourism Board will give away one trip per weekday from Friday, October 6th to February 5, 2012. Each winner and one guest will spend 8 days, 7 nights on a customizable trip to Costa Rica. The five trip types are Adventure Happiness, Adrenaline Happiness, Authentic Happiness, Romantic Happiness and Wildlife Happiness. Videos describing each type will be posted on the Facebook page and the Costa Rica YouTube channel. In addition to the Facebook contest, Costa Rica will hand-select 95 other travelers who could benefit from a gift of happiness, who share Costa Rica’s values and who demonstrate the country’s belief in Pura Vida – everything good in life. In total, 255 travelers will receive free trips to the happiest country on the planet. To promote the country and campaign, we created four videos of Mr. Sloth, the slow-moving spokes-animal who showcases his beautiful, green environment and the relaxed culture of Costa Rica. Other elements of the campaign include the “EnviroMixer” iPad app, which allows users to compose music using the unique sounds of wildlife in Costa Rica, as well as various print ads, digital and rich media.