Bill McEntee Creative Services

Portfolio

1993-94 Season

"The Magic of Winter"

We had built this ad campaign on the big successes of the previous season.

It was time to persuade Florida bound families to turn north.

Not every vacationer chooses to ski. Many skiers were now heading to Disney World, Universal, and a variety of cruise packages. We set out to address the groups who were heading south, and show them how a vacation at Sunday River can deliver a satisfying time for the whole family. We had filmed the TV commercials for the “Magic of Winter” series with this in mind, during a period in March and April with weekly snowfalls and perfectly warm, sunny days. Bob Noll's film company was here so much, they almost seemed like employees of the resort.

We set up a shoot of fireworks over the Summit Hotel that gave Sharon McNeill a photo to lead the season's primary message. The film segment of this became a widely circulated promo for Maine tourism long after Sunday River was done with it. We used the fireworks to broaden the pallet of colors associated with skiing to include the warm side of the spectrum. The focus on multi generational family gatherings was deliberate. Other themes included reunions of old friends, good times for the kids and romantic rendezvous.

Les Otten, Tim Cohee, Skip King and I had brainstormed the ads, and passed them to Boston Productions. Before they could debut in the 1993-94 season, Tim had accepted the offer of CEO at Kirkwood, and I had taken a marketing director position at Ragged Mountain.

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