Creating Tourism Ads for Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture & Tourism taps OTE to produce American ad campaign.
When Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism had millions of dollars to spend on a tourism campaign starring Chris Hemsworth, they (sadly) didn’t call Over the Edge. But when the country’s tourism experts wanted to create a nationally televised ad campaign for the United States, targeting an American audience, they came to OTE and we couldn’t have been more excited to take on the challenge.
“Discover Abu Dhabi” 60 Second Hero Spot
Understanding the Audience & the Message
In the early phases of preproduction, our team worked closely with Abu Dhabi’s tourism board to understand exactly what they wanted to share with travelers: what makes Abu Dhabi world-class, who their audience is, and how to position the city as a must-visit destination.
Capturing the Best of Abu Dhabi
OTE handled the campaign from scriptwriting through post-production, but the best part was getting to visit the country and film the very best that it had to offer travelers.
OTE’s team worked hand-in-hand with an outstanding local crew—producers, fixers, location scouts, G&E, camera assistants, drone operators, and more. The level of professionalism and hospitality we experienced from the team in Abu Dhabi was world-class.
Our shot list was as diverse as the city itself: dune buggies and camel rides in the desert, luxury resorts, modern art museums, bustling food markets, and Abu Dhabi’s vibrant cultural scene.
What Makes a Great Tourism Ad?
Aside from a mountain of logistical hurdles, there are some very important creative considerations to make before filming a tourism ad. According to director Mike Leonard, creating an effective campaign requires a few key elements:
1. Understand What Excites Your Audience.
For some, it’s luxury and relaxation. For others, it’s adventure and adrenaline. In Abu Dhabi, we created different ads targeting these distinct audiences and then built a “Hero” spot that touched on it all—adventure, wellness, luxury, and culture.
2. Casting Authenticity.
Tourism ads only have a few seconds to capture attention and tell a story, which makes every detail—from casting to color grading—critical. For this campaign, we casted Kaitlin O’Toole and Peter Kell, a real couple and seasoned on-camera professionals. Their natural chemistry and comfort in front of the lens created authentic moments of connection, perfectly embodying the feelings we wanted viewers—and future travelers—to experience.
3. Directing the Energy.
From a director’s standpoint, an actor’s energy and performance are often a direct reflection of the environment created for them. Mike’s approach is simple: make the actors comfortable, set the vibe, then capture it.
He often reminds talent, “Whatever you’re thinking and feeling internally will translate subconsciously to your external expression.” If someone is thinking, “This is incredible” or “I feel so relaxed,” those subtle nuances naturally surface in their expressions on camera.
Creating those authentic moments starts with ensuring that everyone on set—crew and talent alike—is genuinely enjoying themselves. When the vibe is good, the actors don’t have to work as hard to perform; the real energy shines through. To capture those fleeting but impactful moments, we often rolled in slow motion while Mike would call out prompts for the actors to internalize. Sometimes, it was a thoughtful direction; other times, it was a well-timed dad joke that sparked the most authentic smiles and laughter.
4. Make Purposeful Visual Choices
It’s not enough to show beautiful locations; the job is to capture the little, unscripted moments that wordlessly convey wonder. Camera movement, pacing, and perspective all become tools to mirror how travelers feel in that moment. Cinematographer Brandon Ripley worked closely with our director in preproduction to understand the visual nature of each scene, and together, they made choices on how to film them.
Key Examples:
✅ Action Requires Camera Movement
On a high-speed dune buggy ride, we leaned into dynamic visuals — epic drone aerials and fast fly-bys shot from another dune buggy. We believe camera movement should match the energy of whatever is happening on-camera and for action scenes, it’s an absolute must.
✅ Compressed Wides = Epic
Capturing the epic scale of the Arabian desert was essential. To achieve it, we used a drone equipped with a long telephoto lens, shooting compressed wides with subtle strafing movement. This technique created a striking relationship between foreground and background, making the landscape feel larger than life and almost surreal. Combined with gentle camera motion and the parallax of towering sand dunes, the composition delivered exactly what we aimed for—true visual grandeur.
✅ Schedule Around Lighting
Beautiful locations already bring amazing, built-in production design, but lighting is everything. Our schedule revolved around morning and evening light, often waiting for the perfect moment to film a short scene.
Launching Nationwide
The finished campaign launched in early September and is now airing nationwide on U.S. television. We’re proud of the work—and even prouder of the opportunity to help redefine perceptions of Abu Dhabi while showcasing its incredible mix of adventure, luxury, art, and culture.
