Welcome to Yorkshire: Analysis

The first time I saw this advert, I was happy to see the establishing shot being Leeds skyline, where it could have been something much more stereotypical. It works, but by the time the viewer has seen it, it has disappeared- half a second longer would be welcome. A minor groan is 'why shoot the clip on a foggy day?' Having said that, if there is one thing to exploit in Leeds it is not the skyline. I'd rather see a shot of a bustling street scene for example. Then again, I suppose an establishing shot is needed.

The shots of Castle Howard and York are good, but at least with York Minster, it shows what people already know. It would have been good to have shown a lesser known building or landscape. Malham Cove? Nidd Gorge through Knaresborough? Yorkshire is marketing itself as innovative and unique place where more is to be discovered, so it would be best to expose a little known wonder rather than a potentially overrated existing tourist trap.

Artistically, the shots work well and the fish and chips shot is good- but bringing the background into focus would have finished it better as currently it just shows fish and chips, not the picturesque village that it looks like it has been filmed in. This is a problem because the initial observation of that is that fish and chips can be bought anywhere rather than pinning down their intrinsic link to Yorkshire.

I would say though that a level of emotion is needed, so I applaud the use of characters in the advert to create a narrative. To follow experiences rather than just documenting a place always sells. However,I don't think the balance is quite right in this advert. The shots of the couple occupy too much time and actually only serve as links between shots, when the purpose of this advert is to promote Yorkshire.

A further improvement could be to create separate adverts. They have made three adverts, but all are relatively similar. More targeted marketing could allow for one advert based on a young person's city break in Leeds with nightclub scenes to be shown around 2100 on Channel 4 for example, while an advert following a 50-something couple on a walking holiday in the Dales could be more successful in reaching the 1900-2000 audience on ITV1.

A massive commendation to them is on the choice of music. I am very pleased that they have chosen a local band who produce innovative and experimental music. This is not a comment made out of personal taste, but the music choice demonstrates what Welcome to Yorkshire are trying to portray- new, daring, exciting, rebellious. It's a pity the image doesn't always match.

A minor groan of mine is the choice of a stereotypical white straight couple, but equally it would be noticed if they weren't and could distract from the main point of the advert.

I do think this is a great improvement on previous Welcome to Yorkshire adverts though, and it is essentially a good advert. Last year, Welcome to Yorkshire scooped 'the Best Marketing Campaign' in the world. This year's advert is an improvement on last years I feel, and the figures prove these adverts are successful. Unlike most of the UK, Yorkshire's tourist trade is currently booming. It is important that the region doesn't sit on its laurels though as I feel it could be marketed even better as I have discussed above.