What it had to solve
Position Montreal as an immersive, must-experience destination with a 360° platform that stands out in a crowded race among city destinations.
How it works
A 60-second trailer-style film by director Jean-François Chagnon (Gorditos) turns the city into a high-intensity stage; OOH playfully twists TV and film review formats with double-meaning quotes. Live since March across theatres, online and OOH in France, the United States and Canadian markets including Western Canada, Ontario and the Maritimes.
What it did
A multi-market 360° launch across three countries; the approach taps film tourism, where a destination's on-screen presence directly influences the desire to visit.
Background
As competition heats up among urban destinations, Tourisme Montréal leaned into bold cultural storytelling: a 360° platform built on the codes of reality TV, the fastest-growing TV format globally. The goal was to position Montreal as an immersive, must-experience destination.
The hero piece is a 60-second trailer-style video that turns the city into a high-intensity summer set, where visitors are not spectators but the stars of their own stay — contestants in their own 'next season' in Montreal. Cossette creative director Alexandre Jutras called the work 'bold, authentic, and memorable': 'We wanted people to jump in, see themselves, and dream about their next season in Montreal.'
On OOH, the campaign twists TV and film review formats with double-meaning quotes, presenting Montreal as a destination where every moment is experienced to the fullest. Live since March in theatres, online and OOH, it runs across France, the United States and several Canadian markets, including Western Canada, Ontario and the Maritimes. CMO Sylvie Charette framed the promise: 'the story belongs to those who come to live their own next season.'
Why it lands
Reality TV's codes are self-casting: viewers already imagine themselves inside the show, so the destination only has to supply the set.
The format taps film tourism, where screen presence measurably drives travel intent — Montreal gets a genre instead of a postcard.
Review-quote OOH is native to the TV-frame idea, so every format reinforces the same fiction that the city is a show.
What you can take
Destination marketing can borrow a TV format wholesale: if reality shows turn ordinary people into stars, a city can promise every visitor top billing.
Since then
The campaign has been live since March 2026 across theatres, online and out-of-home in France, the US and multiple Canadian markets; no performance figures are recorded in the coverage.
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