West Virginia: Rebrand

West Virginia’s iconic “Almost Heaven” slogan was widely recognised, but the brand had become reliant on generic scenic imagery that failed to differentiate the destination from other mountain states. The challenge was to modernise the brand narrative, shifting from where West Virginia is to how it makes you feel, while driving year-round visitation and bookings. This transformation also needed to be achieved using existing assets, as no new shoots were possible until late summer 2025.

With no budget and very little time we had to hit the ground running so we started with what already existed, finding new ways to bring the imagery to life. We refreshed the brand’s look, using the familiar ‘Almost Heaven’ line and morphing it into hand drawn illustrations as a storytelling device across seasonal campaigns.

From there, we began creating original campaigns and experiences of our own.

Screen-Free Summer turned West Virginia’s lack of phone signal, and our lack of new footage into a virtue, encouraging people to switch off their devices and reconnect with the real world. The campaign tapped into the cultural trend of digital detox through OOH creative and an innovative “screen-free” TVC featuring only forest sounds and VO. The campaign won a Platinum Adrian Award.

For summer, we were given budget to shoot our own material, so we took West Virginia’s most famous export and gave it a new voice. Summer Singalong reimagines Take Me Home, Country Roads as a joyful journey through the state, with different people picking up the song as we move from one West Virginia experience to the next.

Part tourism film, part singalong, it turns a song millions already know and love into an invitation to come and experience the place for themselves.