Jasper National Park features prominently in the new ad campaign recently unveiled by Travel Alberta, which advises potential visitors to “remember to breathe” as it presents them with a series of images designed to take their breath away.

The rugged beauty of the Rocky Mountains and the appeal of outdoor activities like fishing and skiing make up a major component of the campaign’s video advertisements, in particular.

And while the campaign also features other parts of the province and is aimed at attracting visitors to all parts of Alberta, the emphasis on this region was a deliberate choice, according to Royce Chwin, managing director of global marketing and brand strategy with Travel Alberta.

Along with Niagara Falls, he said, the Rockies are one of the few Canadian icons that have had “generational exposure” both nationally and internationally. Images of the Rockies, he added, are instantly recognizable to audiences around the world and have the power “to stop people in their tracks with amazing beauty.”

And that’s precisely the goal of the campaign: to elicit emotional reactions from potential visitors.

“You buy through emotion, so we really need to key on that,” Chwin explained during a presentation to local businesspeople and tourism officials in Jasper on Nov. 3.

He added that the campaign is primarily targeted toward “youthfully spirited adventurers” who are seeking “authentic experiences” during their vacation time. The television ads reflect that approach, featuring stunning landscape and scenery shots interspersed with slow-motion sequences of outdoor activities like snowshoeing, mountain biking and horseback riding, ending with a text overlay of the campaign theme: “(remember to breathe).”

Tourism Jasper worked closely with Travel Alberta on the campaign, said CEO Maggie Davison, with much of the filming taking place within the park. One entire television ad was filmed at Maligne Lake.

Davison said local tourism officials also participated in earlier focus group work and the reaction to the campaign’s theme was overwhelmingly positive.

“I think it will resonate very well with our target audience,” she said. “It’s very powerful. It will work very well in our international markets and certainly here at home, as well.”

Tourism attracts more than 22 million visitors to the province each year, according to Travel Alberta, and those visitors spend more than $5 billion while they’re here. The tourism industry employs more than 90,000 people across the province.

In spite of those numbers, Chwin said there is still lots of room for growth, particularly in the international market. Alberta remains relatively unknown throughout the world, he said, with the province showing scores of just 0.2 per cent in “global traveller awareness” surveys.

Another goal of the campaign, he said, is to break in to that international market by making Alberta stand out more in the eyes of global travellers.

“There is a need to differentiate Alberta,” he said. “If you’re not different than another destination, why would anybody choose you? Why would anybody stop to think or consider what there is to do here?”

More information about the campaign can be found at its official website www.remembertobreathe.com and the television ads can be seen at www.youtube.com/TravelAlbertaCanada or simply by searching YouTube for “remember to breathe.”