Ottawa Tourism renamed 76 everyday spots 'Unofficial Museums' for summer

Welcome summer visitors by highlighting unexpected aspects of Ottawa's culture and creativity alongside its famous institutions — the city already holds seven of Canada's nine national museums.

In a city where everything is about culture, just about everything is a museum: 76 restaurants, bars and attractions were anointed Unofficial Museums.

Each of the 76 locations was unofficially renamed to emphasise its character: Tavern on the Falls became the Unofficial Museum of Airplane Mode, the Rideau Canal the Unofficial Museum of Scenic Cardio, the Great Canadian Bungee the Unofficial Museum of Free Falling. The campaign ran nationally in multi-format video, display, social and radio with a complementary influencer program, produced with Nova Film.

76 places across the capital carried museum status for the summer. CMO Glenn Duncan said the hidden gems — like the Unofficial Museum of Pizza by the Metre — were what the city wanted visitors to discover; Rethink's creative directors said the exercise 'made us see Ottawa in a completely different light'.

With summer travel in full swing in July 2022, Ottawa Tourism and agency Rethink launched 'Unofficial Museums', a campaign celebrating the Canadian capital's famous cultural institutions while turning its hidden gems into attractions of equal standing — because, as the agency put it, in a city where everything is about culture, just about everything is a museum.

The campaign lent special museum status to 76 attractions, restaurants, bars and events, each renamed to emphasise its distinctive character. Tavern on the Falls became the Unofficial Museum of Airplane Mode; the Rideau Canal, a local favourite for running and cycling, the Unofficial Museum of Scenic Cardio; the Great Canadian Bungee the Unofficial Museum of Free Falling.

Ottawa Tourism CMO Glenn Duncan pointed to the city's seven of Canada's nine national museums and one-of-a-kind festivals, plus newcomers like the Unofficial Museum of Pizza by the Metre and the Unofficial Museum of Sleeping with the Wolves. The campaign rolled out across the country in video, display, social and radio, backed by an influencer program.

The pun works as positioning: a city overloaded with national museums can authenticate anything by calling it one.

Renaming real places gives locals and visitors a checklist — 76 reasons to explore beyond the postcard institutions.

It costs little: no new buildings, just names, signage-style creative and media to spread them.

Borrow the prestige of what a city has too much of: if museums define you, the fastest way to elevate the everyday is to declare everything one.

As of the July 2022 write-up the campaign was running nationally across video, display, social and radio with an influencer program; two years later Ottawa Tourism and Rethink followed it with the 'Oh! to Ah!' signature campaign.