Altering Perceptions “Mexico Taxi Confessions”

In the last ten years, travel to Mexico has been in a steep decline. With the recession and almost constant news coverage of violence, Mexico’s tourism industry has been hit hard. In an effort to change public opinion about their troubled tourism industry, the Mexico Tourism Board is taking its estimated $30 million budget and using it on a new ad campaign called the “Mexico Taxi Project.”

This new campaign will feature candid hidden-camera commercials shot in taxis as well as print and online advertising.

In these commercials, travelers returning from Mexico discuss their vacations with car service drivers on their way home. The drivers are a part of the campaign, and the town cars they drive are logistically situated in upscale urban areas around the U.S. Topics addressed in these cabs range from the quality of food and atmosphere, to more serious concerns about security.

In one commercial, a driver asks about safety and one man replies, “Oh yeah, we almost didn’t go.” The second man replies, “Totally safe. Everything you hear on the news is not what you experience down there.”

Geraldo Llanes, chief marketing officer at the Mexico Tourism Board in Mexico City, admits that this campaign is a gamble. But the logic behind it is that Americans will be talking to Americans about their experiences in Mexico, as opposed to the Board of Mexican Tourism talking. Alejandro Cardoso, president at Publicis Mexico and chief executive at Publicis Latin America claims that nine out of ten visitors return home satisfied.

Mexico’s Tourism may have gotten a bad rap over the years, but this campaign focuses on changing all that. Check out the campaign microsite, or special website at mexicotaxiproject.com.

What are your thoughts about this campaign? What about tourism in Mexico? Share your Mexico experiences below.