New Pure Michigan national TV ad campaign declares: 'Ann Arbor does it up different'

The new Pure Michigan ads will run through June, and four partners — Ann Arbor, Mackinac Island, The Henry Ford and Traverse City — are contributing a combined $2 million toward this year's national campaign, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The total budget for the 2012 campaign is $12 million — the largest budget ever dedicated to promoting Michigan as a tourism destination nationally, MEDC officials said.

While some Pure Michigan ads begin airing Monday, national partner ads like the one promoting Ann Arbor won't be added to the rotation until mid-April, MEDC officials said.

A 30-second TV spot featuring Ann Arbor was posted to the Pure Michigan YouTube channel last week.

It showcases everyday life in Ann Arbor, including a resident carrying a bicycle down his front porch steps, people walking through an arched entrance to the grassy courtyard of the University of Michigan Law Quad, a street musician playing in front of the mural of famous writers along East Liberty Street, the fountain under the Burton Memorial Tower, the gates to the Big House, Nickels Arcade, street-side diners outside Gratzi on Main Street, a scene from the Farmer's Market, a Zingerman's employee grabbing a loaf of fresh-baked bread from a shelf, and kids playing by the spinning cube on U-M's Central Campus.

"City by city, town after town, one sidewalk blends into another," the voiceover states in the video. "But there is a place where every street is different, every corner plays a new song, every day is a festival, where storefronts, cafes and artists all say, 'Mix it up, take another taste, linger a little longer.' Ann Arbor does it up different. Ann Arbor does it Pure Michigan."

MEDC spokeswoman Michelle Begnoche said that's the only Ann Arbor TV spot that will run on the national cable stations, but there are more elements that are part of the Ann Arbor promotional campaign, including promotion of Ann Arbor SPARK objectives in the region.

She said the campaign will include a two-minute promotional video highlighting the area's thriving business climate and arts and cultural offerings, as well as one or more press trips to invite journalists to experience Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas.

The plan also includes pitching national and regional publications on all that Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas have to offer businesses, residents and visitors alike.

Other highlights of Ann Arbor's national partnership with the Pure Michigan brand can be found on the Ann Arbor partner page.

The Pure Michigan website also carries this message: "Plan a trip to Michigan's Ann Arbor, where the pulse of a big city comes with the handshake of a small town. Experience the flavors of festivals, art, music and history. Spend a little time in Ann Arbor."

It also describes Ann Arbor this way: "A place that embraces the unique and unusual. Where the art challenges the mind as much as it engages the eyes. And where trying a new taste is always on the menu. The storefronts, cafes and artists of Ann Arbor do it up a little different. So break away from the ordinary and come to Ann Arbor."

• Download the promotional Pure Michigan Visitors Guide for Ann Arbor

MEDC officials said this will be the second year for the Mackinac Island, Henry Ford and Traverse City partnerships, but the first year for Ann Arbor. Each of the four national sponsors contributed $500,000 as part of the Travel Michigan Partnership Advertising Program.

The Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Ypsilanti Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and SPARK are the partners putting up the local funding for the initiative.

The MEDC plans to allocate $500,000 from its Pure Michigan funds, with a matching amount from SPARK and the local CVBs. The Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti CVBs each plan to allocate $230,000 and SPARK plans to allocate $70,000.

The Pure Michigan television commercials are expected to air nationally more than 5,000 times combined on these cable networks: A&E, ABC Family, Animal Planet, Bravo, CMT, CNN, the Cooking Channel, E!, Food Network, Fox News, the Golf Channel, HGTV, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, MSNBC, Nick at Nite, OWN, the Outdoor Channel, Oxygen, Style, The Learning Channel, the Travel Channel, USA, WE and the Weather Channel.

Other featured ads in the rotation can be viewed at michigan.org.

Travel Michigan, part of the MEDC, is the state's official agency for promoting tourism. George Zimmermann, vice president for Travel Michigan, said there have been dramatic increases in the number of out-of-state visitors coming to Michigan on vacation in recent years.

"We anticipate 2012 will be another big year for tourism in Michigan, and this national campaign is major factor in driving that momentum," Zimmermann said.

The Birmingham office of McCann Erickson developed the Pure Michigan campaign in 2006. It expanded from a regional campaign in 2006-2008 to a national campaign in 2009.