Tag Archives: VISIT PHILADELPHIA™

Philazilla

VISIT PHILADELPHIA’s fun, over-the-top commercial honors the city’s beloved icons while showing off the many other enjoyments that make Philadelphia such a popular place to visit and stay overnight. In these two scenes, a larger-than-life Benjamin Franklin makes his way through the city in preparation for a spat with a cheesesteak that’s just as eager for the spotlight as Ben. An outrageous tiff ensues, leaving a visitor asking, “What’s with them?,” and her taxi driver responding, “Oh those two. They’re always fighting for attention.” The tongue-in-cheek spot ends with the tagline: There’s more to a legendary city than its legends.

Credit: Photo courtesy of VISIT PHILADELPHIA®

PHILADELPHIA, January 26, 2016 – VISIT PHILADELPHIA^® debuted a new television commercial today—a fun, over-the-top spot that honors the city’s beloved icons while showing off the many other enjoyments that make Philadelphia such a popular place to visit and stay overnight. Created in partnership with Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners, the commercial is part of the destination marketing organization’s With Love, Philadelphia XOXO^® campaign and the first VISIT PHILADELPHIA spot to air on television since 2011. It is viewable at visitphilly.com/philazillas.

“Cheesesteaks and history are legendary in Philadelphia, and deservedly so,” said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO, VISIT PHILADELPHIA. “But we want people to realize that there’s a lot more to this city, and it’s all deserving of attention: the waterfronts, the parks, the restaurants, the bars, the culture, the walkability. Our new commercial shows off these wonders, and every one of them is a great reason to visit Philadelphia. You’ll definitely need more than a day to get it all in though.”

The Concept & Strategy Behind It:

In the spot entitled “Philazillas,” a larger-than-life Benjamin Franklin and a just-as-big cheesesteak vie for the spotlight during an outrageous tiff that leaves a visitor asking, “What’s with them?,” and her taxi driver responding, “Oh those two. They’re always fighting for attention.” The tongue-in-cheek spot ends with the tagline: There’s more to a legendary city than its legends.

Research commissioned by VISIT PHILADELPHIA in 2015 found that while most leisure travelers acknowledged Philadelphia’s iconic sites, they seek fun and authentic experiences, restaurants, nightlife, art and walkability for urban destination getaways. That’s why “Philazillas” shows off the many city features that compel travelers to visit.

“The challenge in developing a spot that broadens people’s perspectives about what makes Philly great was having a bit of fun with the two things the city is most famous for—cheesesteaks and history,” said Steve Red, president and chief creative officer, Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners. “But at the same time, it was important to acknowledge their legendary status and importance to the city.”

Why Now?:

Philadelphia has hit records and milestones in recent years, with 39.7 million total visitors in 2014 and 77% occupancy at Center City hotels and an historic visit from Pope Francis in 2015. To keep this momentum going, it’s important for Philadelphia to stay top of mind for people making decisions about their next vacation or even contemplating a new location for their home or business. That means getting the Philadelphia message out to them on all possible platforms, including on TVs and digital screens.

The Media Buy:

Video consumption across many platforms is at an all-time high, and it’s imperative for VISIT PHILADELPHIA to reach consumers in these spaces. The destination-marketing organization secured a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development grant to promote visitation to Philadelphia through video on screens of all sorts—TV, desktop, mobile and tablet devices—in 2016. This multi-screen grant helps extend the messaging of the With Love campaign to a wider audience.

There are three versions of the commercial: 60 seconds, 30 seconds and 15 seconds. The 60-second version tells the most robust story, and that iteration will appear online and on VISIT PHILADELPHIA’s websites and social media properties. Due to a limited budget, the shorter versions will run on television and online as part of the paid advertising buy.

The “Philazillas” spot will complement VISIT PHILADELPHIA’s core media buy, which will feature creative on digital and out-of-home advertising in the New York and Philadelphia DMAs. The commercial will run on broadcast and cable networks in three flights: February 1-21, July 11-31 andSeptember 5-18, 2016. In addition, it will appear online through media distribution partners such as Lin Digital, TubeMogul, Facebook and YouTube.

VISIT PHILADELPHIA^® makes Philadelphia and The Countryside^® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the five-county area.

On Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor website and blog, visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com, visitors can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages. Compelling photography and videos, interactive maps and detailed visitor information make the sites effective trip-planning tools. Along with Visit Philly social media channels, the online platforms communicate directly with consumers. Travelers can also call and stop into the Independence Visitor Center for additional information and tickets.

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Martin Luther King, Jr., 1981, by John Woodrow Wilson (Philadelphia Museum of Art: 125th Anniversary Acquisition. Purchased with funds contributed by the Young Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in honor of the 125th Anniversary of the Museum and in celebration of African American art © John Wilson/Licensed by VAGA, New York Credit: Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art

Bringing together more than 75 works from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s extensive collection of art by African Americans, Represent: 200 Years of African-American Art displays works by 50 artists, including Henry Ossawa Tanner, Horace Pippin, Jacob Lawrence, Alma Thomas, Martin Puryear, Carrie Mae Weems and others. Highlighted by Tanner’s iconic painting The Annunciation, the exhibition features a wide range of items such as pre-Civil War-era decorative pottery, early 20th-century paintings and photography, sculpture and portraits. It runs through April 5, 2015.

In 2015, Philadelphia museums will mount six major exhibitions featuring some of the most celebrated African-American artists, further adding to the city’s reputation as one of the world’s great art centers. In addition to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s special exhibition Represent: 200 Years of African American Art, featuring dozens of works from its collections, art lovers can take in the Brandywine Museum of Art’s landmark exhibition Horace Pippin: The Way I See It. Adding to the trove of artistic treasures is As We See It: Selected Works from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection, coming to the African American Museum in Philadelphia, along with shows at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Woodmere Art Museum.

After touring these special exhibitions, visitors can discover the array of African and African-American art in the permanent collections at many institutions around town. Here’s a look at the exhibits and museums worth exploring this year especially:

Special Exhibitions:

With work by renowned artists such as Henry Ossawa Tanner, Horace Pippin, Jacob Lawrence, Martin Puryear and Carrie Mae Weems, Represent: 200 Years of African American Art showcases a range of subjects, styles, mediums and traditions. Since acquiring Tanner’s The Annunciation painting in 1899, the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection of African-American art has grown significantly, especially during the last three decades, and much of it will be on display in this exhibit. January 10-April 5, 2015. 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 763-8100, philamuseum.org
The African American Museum in Philadelphia presents two major art exhibitions this year. Masterpieces by such luminaries as Edward Bannister, Henry Ossawa Tanner and Elizabeth Catlett sit alongside works by school children who have been influenced by them during As We See It: Selected Works from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection. February 5-March 21, 2015. In the spring, the museum explores the artistic side of Danny Simmons, who is best known as a writer, producer and Tony winner for his Broadway version of Def Poetry Jam. The United Nations and the Smithsonian count his art in their collections. Selected Works from the Danny Simmons Collection features Simmons’ art works and poetry, as well as items from his own collection (Beauford Delaney, James Van Der Zee, Mickalene Thomas, Sol Sax, Derrick Adams and Kara Walker). April 24-June 7, 2015. 701 Arch Street, (215) 574-0380, aampmuseum.org
In the first major exhibition of the artist’s works in the country in more than two decades, Horace Pippin: The Way I See It features more than 60 bold, colorful and candid paintings that reflect life in the African-American community and comment on race, religion, war and history. The Brandywine Museum of Art’s exhibition reveals Pippin as an artist who upheld his own aesthetic sensibility while addressing larger social issues. April 25-July 19, 2015.U.S. Route 1 by Creek Road (formerly Route 100), (610) 388-2700, brandywine.org
Through an array of works in a broad spectrum of media, African-American Artists of 20^th-Century Philadelphia at the Woodmere Art Museum tells the stories of some of Philadelphia’s most celebrated African-American artists, such as James Brantley, Claude Clark, and Ellen Powell Tiberino, and the institutions that nurtured their talents and exhibited their works. Numerous oral histories round out the story. September 26, 2015-January 24, 2016. 9201 Germantown Avenue, (215) 247-0476, woodmereartmuseum.org
With more than 80 paintings, works on paper and the artist’s hand-made puppets all culled from major international private and public collections, Procession: The Art of Norman Lewis travels through four decades of the artist’s career from the 1930s through the 1970s. Through the exhibition, visitors to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts learn about Lewis’ role in the Harlem art community and his contributions to abstract expressionism.November 13, 2014-April 3, 2016. 118 N. Broad Street, (215) 972-7600, pafa.org

Permanent Collections:
African Art:

Dr. Albert Barnes’ interest in African art dates back to the early 1920s when he acquired traditional African masks and sculptures from the Dan and possibly Kulango societies of Côte d’Ivoire, as well as from Guinea and northeast Liberia. Visitors can see theses works, which he describes as “the purest expression of the three-dimensional form,” at the Barnes Foundation. Home to a remarkable collection of paintings from the masters of modern art, the Barnes Foundation’s significant collection of African art is displayed in remarkable ensembles that show how the likes of Picasso and Modigliani were influenced by the stylistic and symbolic forms in African art. The Barnes Foundation also holds important works by American artists, including Horace Pippin. 20^th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (866) 849-7056, barnesfoundation.org
The Penn Museum, or University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, boasts an extensive collection of African art and artifacts such as masks, sculptures, instruments, famed Benin bronzes, embroidered garments and jewelry. Visitors can also marvel at a wide range of other materials from throughout the continent, which are on permanent display in the African and Ancient Egyptian galleries. 3260 South Street, (215) 898-4000,penn.museum

African-American Art:

In addition to special exhibitions, The African American Museum in Philadelphia houses and frequently displays a large collection of paintings, photographs, prints, drawings, sculptures and mixed-media works that chronicle and dramatically tell the story of the black Diaspora. 701 Arch Street, (215) 574-0380, aampmuseum.org
Prominent African-American architect Julian Abele is credited with the design of the east façade of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but visitors can see works by other African-Americans inside the building as well. Three not-to-be-missed treasures: Miss T by Barkley Hendricks, Storage Jar by David Drake and Mr. Prejudice by Horace Pippin. 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 763-8100, philamuseum.org
At the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the nation’s first fine arts school and museum and the first in the world to exhibit works by an African-American artist, visitors can view major works by Nick Cave, Kehinde Wiley, Whitfield Lovell, Mickalene Thomas, Jacob Lawrence, Horace Pippin and others on permanent display throughout the galleries. 118 N. Broad Street, (215) 972-7600, pafa.org
For more than 42 years, the Brandywine Workshop has been a national force in the development and understanding of American printmaking as a fine-art form. The organization has sponsored more than 350 visiting artists’ residencies from 35 states and 15 countries, in addition to ethnically diverse artists from around the region. Guests can peruse and purchase more than 600 prints and lithographs from artists-in-residence past and present, including Sam Gilliam, Jacob Landau, Jules Olitski, Betye Sarr and Moe Brooker. 728 S. Broad Street, (215) 546-3675, brandywineworkshop.com
Located in historic Chestnut Hill, Woodmere Art Museum celebrates the work of Philadelphia artists, including the city’s many great African-American talents. The museum recently acquired works by Charles Jay, Humbert Howard, Charles Searles, Sterling Shaw, Ron Tarver, Claude Clark, Paul F. Keene Jr. and James Brantley, and it regularly displays works by Allan R. Freelon, Dox Thrash, Raymond Steth, Louis Baynard Sloan, David Clyde Driskell and Moe Brooker.
9201 Germantown Avenue, (215) 247-0476, woodmereartmuseum.org

The With Art Philadelphia^® collaborative is a first-of-its-kind partnership to position Philadelphia among the world’s great art destinations and to increase visitation to the region from around the world. The groups contributing financial and other resources to the campaign are: the City of Philadelphia, VISIT PHILADELPHIA^™, Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Penn Museum (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology), Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, The Lenfest Foundation, William Penn Foundation, Knight Foundation, Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, PNC and PECO.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit visitphilly.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to HearPhilly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at (800) 537-7676.

For more information about With Art Philadelphia and high-resolution photos of the Philadelphia art scene and the region, visit visitphilly.com/withartpress.

Thank You to With Art Philadelphia for the content of this blog post. DoNArTNeWs contributed links to artist’s website and Wikipedia pages.