What it had to solve
Drive responsible travel to California's Eastern Sierra by putting stewardship at the heart of the destination's marketing, not a hashtag on the side.
The idea
Skip CGI: shoot real Mammoth Lakes so surreal — snowy peaks, rainbow-emitting waterfalls — that the fantasy is one visitors must help preserve
How it works
Six video spots by adventure photographer and Mammoth Lakes local Christian Pondella framed the landscape as a real-life video game, backed by digital banners, social, print and custom content across Denver, the Northeast and California/Nevada markets.
What it did
The campaign positioned responsible tourism at the heart of Mammoth Lakes' marketing; no results figures reported.
Background
In late 2022 The Shipyard launched 'The Real Unreal', a campaign for Mammoth Lakes Tourism designed to drive responsible travel to the adventure land in California's Eastern Sierra. Instead of high-tech CGI, six video spots shot by adventure sports photographer and Mammoth Lakes local Christian Pondella leaned on the landscape's own grandeur — pristine snowy mountains, rainbow-emitting waterfalls, expansive valleys — so viewers felt inside a real-life video game.
Executive creative director Kerry Krasts said the campaign upends the fantasy realities people escape to with CGI by immersing them in a fantasy they can actually see, explore and experience. Executive director John Urdi said plenty of destinations promote stewardship as a mere hashtag, but responsible tourism sits at the heart of MLT's mission and marketing: the place is so incredible visitors will want to protect it like their own.
The campaign ran in travel markets including Denver and the Northeast (New York, New Jersey, Boston) plus regional California and Nevada markets, using digital banners, social media, print ads and custom content. No results figures are reported.
Why it lands
Shooting real landscapes as a fantasy world makes the 'unreal' claim verifiable — the audience can go stand in it.
Awe is repurposed as an argument for stewardship: you protect what made your jaw drop.
A local adventure photographer shoots the terrain with the credibility of someone who plays there, not a studio render.
Post-pandemic audiences had just learned to escape into virtual worlds; the campaign offered the same feeling with a physical address.
What you can take
In a filtered world, unretouched spectacle is the differentiator — and it earns the right to ask visitors to protect it.
Since then
The campaign ran across video, digital banners, social and print in Denver, the Northeast and California/Nevada markets from late 2022. No results figures are reported.
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