Bill McEntee Creative Services

Les Otten's hard work had paid off, and Sunday River had been named "Number One in the East" by SKI Magazine. The trail layout, lift system, snow making, snow grooming, real estate and hospitality had come together to give skiers an amazingly great experience. You could arrive on a crowded day and never encounter a lift line longer than 10 minutes. The snow quality was more reliable than any of its competitors. You could range out and ski all over a huge amount of terrain.

Brand loyalty among the Boston and Providence skiers was solid, but skiers from New York and Washington were yet to be introduced. Tim Cohee led the marketing department, brainstorming up the "Gotta Ski" campaign for the 1992-93 season. This played out through bumper stickers, ads, TV commercials and brochures. The theme was sunshine, blue sky and white snow, with none of the New England grays. We capitalized on every bit of perfect conditions that season, with Skip King writing his best stuff, Sharon McNeill shooting in the woods, from helicopters and everywhere else, Reggie Cooper and Mike Ladinig doing ski reports filmed daily for the city television audiences.

My work involved art direction of a special series of TV commercials, produced by Bob Noll and Boston Productions. I also designed a number of ads, brochures, posters and logos. This was a stellar moment in ski marketing, a thrilling ride.