Military dictatorship? What military dictatorship? Tourism Fiji has sent its new global brand campaign into the wild and, in an effort to differentiate it from its Pacific competition, the island nation is focusing on the fact that its happiness is likely to rub off on visitors.
Back in 2011, Fiji was ranked top in the WinGallup Global Barometer of Happiness, ahead of Nigeria, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Ghana (although it doesn’t feature in the UN’s second annual happiest country list, which saw the Scandinavian nations dominate). So the new global campaign, which was created by Colenso BBDO and includes TV commercials, a new website and social media initiatives, taps into that attitude with the new slogan ‘Where happiness finds you’. As well as being slightly twee, you could also see it as being slightly ominous in a place like Fiji (‘Where happiness finds you—and locks you up without recourse to fair process)’. 
“When you think about it, the whole world is continually looking for happiness,” says Tourism Fiji’s chief executive Rick Hamilton in a release. “But actually, it’s Fijians, the people who are trying the least, who have it the most. We wanted to demonstrate why Fiji is the happiest place in the world and ultimately to show how this happiness can be transferred to our visitors … This is crucial, because it’s what sets Fiji apart from other island destinations. They all have beautiful beaches, sun and clear water, but none of them make you feel the way Fiji does.”
The new campaign focuses on a series of major themes: happiness, relaxation, families, romance, surfing and adventure, and the ads were shot over two weeks by Derek Henderson from Curious.
Colenso BBDO won the business after a global pitch, replacing Barnes, Catmur & Friends locally, which achieved good results with its Fiji Me work. The launch of the new campaign was delayed due to damage from Cyclone Evan.
Another Kiwi company, Sparks Interactive, was appointed to develop Tourism Fiji’s website.
